A week after the custodial death of 26-year-old Ketan Patel in Gujarat's Mehsana, the police have finally lodged an first information report (FIR) for murder against cops and others and arrested two persons in connection with the case that has pushed the district to the brink of violence.
However, the family members have still not accepted the body of deceased, holding to their demand of arrest of all cops who had reportedly beaten to death after his arrest in a petty theft case.
On Monday late night, the police lodged the FIR based on a complaint by Mahendra Patel, father of the victim, died in police custody on June 6. The case has been filed under Section 302 for murder and other sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC).
According complainant, his son was beaten to death by the cops and even two autopsies conducted by a panel of doctors have revealed that the deceased died of multiple injuries due to excessive beating.
"We are yet to get the CD of PM conducted at civil hospital in Mehsana as was promised by the government authorities," a family member said, adding till they get the CD and all accused are arrested, dead body will not be accepted by the family.
The incident has revived the Patidar agitation against the state BJP government, which has desperately trying to find a way out from the imbroglio that had pushed the state to the castes clashes and violence in 2015.
"The custodial death of Ketan is a cold blooded murder of a Patidar youth by the police. This is the latest example of how the cops are committing murders of Patidars under the BJP government," said Varun Patel, member of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) that spearheads the quota agitation in the state.
Following the incident, tempers soared high in Mehsana, an epicentre of the Patidar quota agitation started in 2015. The Congress and Patidar groups had given North Gujarat bandh call resulting in violence, as protesters torched two buses and a portion of the Mehsaha civic body’s office.
