Gujarat HC sentences 4 cops to 14-day imprisonment for flogging minority community members, stays order for 3 months

The Gujarat High Court termed the incident "inhuman" and an "act against humanity". It sentenced four cops to 14-day imprisonment but the order was stayed at the request of the policemen to allow them to appeal against the verdict.

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court on Thursday sentenced four policemen to 14 days of imprisonment for publicly flogging minority community members in Kheda district in October 2022. The verdict, however, was stayed for three months after the policemen sought time from the court to appeal against the order.

The video and images of flogging were examined by the court and four policemen were accused of being involved in the incident. The court termed the incident as "inhumane" and "act against humanity".

The policemen have been accused of tying the members of minority community to a pole and publicly flogging them. The men were arrested for allegedly pelting stones at a garba event during Navratri in Undhela village in Gujarat's Kheda district last year.

The Gujarat High Court found the policemen guilty of "contempt of court" and sentenced them to a 14-day imprisonment. The policemen were "willing to pay compensation to avoid punishment".

A bench of Justices AS Supehia and Gita Gopi remarked that the court is not happy that a day has come when it is passing such orders asking police officers to undergo simple imprisonment. Earlier, in July this year, the High Court had directed the chief judicial magistrate, Nadiad to analyse pen drives and other electronic evidence including videos, related to the incident.

On October 3, 2022, some miscreants pelted stones at a crowd during Navratri celebrations in Undhela village of Matar taluk in Kheda district. At least 40 people were arrested in this connection and nine people including two policemen were injured. While analysing the videos, four policemen were accused of publicly flogging members of minority community.