THE VADODARA city police on Sunday launched an investigation after a 30-year-old man alleged that he was assaulted by personnel at the Sayajigunj traffic police station, a day after videos of the alleged altercation surfaced online. The police have also booked the man, identified as Kaushal Jat, for obstructing a public servant in discharge of duties as well as traffic violations.
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A day after videos of Jat, purportedly showing injury marks on his body, became public, the police on Sunday released footage from the body worn camera of the traffic police as well as the CCTV footage of the Dandia Bazar-Akota junction, where the incident occurred around 10:30 am on Saturday. The Vadodara city police also released a third video that showed Jat’s parents purportedly admitting that they had no identity card to prove their initial claim of his father being an army personnel.
The incident occurred when Jat was stopped by traffic police personnel at the Dandia Bazar-Akota junction for allegedly riding a motorcycle without a number plate. The traffic personnel also sought Jat’s driver’s licence and noticed that the two-wheeler had a modified silencer – in violation of the prohibitory orders in place. However, police said that Jat could not produce his driver’s licence and was riding the motorcycle without a helmet, while speaking on the mobile phone – four traffic offences in all.
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Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Traffic, D M Vyas, said that when the police personnel attempted to complete the process of penalising Jat for traffic violations, he began arguing with them. “The individual resisted the traffic police action even as they were trying to explain to him that he had violated traffic rules on four counts. I was present at the spot when the matter began to escalate. I asked my commando to sit on his motorcycle as a pillion rider to bring him to the Sayajigunj traffic police station. However, he misbehaved with the traffic personnel, including a woman. The officers then used force to push him into the police vehicle and bring him to the traffic police station,” Vyas said.
According to Vyas, Jat’s family members soon reached the traffic police station and his father claimed to be an army personnel. “When we asked him (Jat’s father) to produce his identity card, he could not do so. They claimed that he was ready to pay the fine for the violations but they could not explain why he (Jat) did not comply with the instructions of the police as the vehicle had to be detained as per process.”
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Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2) Manjita Vanzara, said an FIR was registered on Sunday at the Raopura police station against Jat, on the basis of a complaint by armed police constable Kiran Jogadiya. Vanzara said, “Jat has been booked for voluntarily assaulting the traffic police personnel and obstructing public servants from discharging duty… Regarding the allegation of police assault, we have initiated a probe based on the complaint submitted by Jat but no FIR has been filed yet as the medical reports of the doctors at SSG, including the orthopaedic and surgery department, say that no grievous injuries were found on Jat’s person. Minor injuries have been sustained by him and also by police personnel with whom he was involved in a scuffle.”
Vanzara added that initial inquiry revealed that Jat’s father is attached to the Railway Police in Kheda district and his younger brother has a criminal record, including two confirmed prohibition cases against him at Vadodara city.
Jat has been booked under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) Sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 221 (obstructing public servant in dischage of public functions, 121(1) (voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 351(1) (criminal intimidation), 54 (abettor present when offence is committed) as well as sections of the Motor Vehicle Act for driving without a valid licence and for driving vehicle without registered number plate.Assistant Commissioner of Police (C Division), Ashok Rathva said the police had not registered a cross FIR yet on Jat’s complaint as he insisted on registering a complaint alleging “police assault using batons.”
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Rathva said, “We have not yet come across any CCTV footage showing the police using batons to assault him and the medical report of SSG hospital does not confirm the kind of injuries that he has alleged to have sustained… We had agreed to take his FIR over a scuffle with the police but he has insisted that the FIR should be about assault with batons. Therefore, we are investigating the complaint first…”
On being asked why the traffic police drove Jat to the Sayajigunj traffic police station instead of Raopura police station, under the jurisdiction of which the incident had occurred, Rathva said that the initial altercation was related to traffic offences. Rathva said, “The incident and the argument between the traffic police and Jat pertained to traffic violations that required his two-wheeler to be detained as per law. When the traffic police saw that the matter was escalating and causing public nuisance, they took him to the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Traffic, at the Sayajigunj traffic police station. Until that time, the case pertained to traffic violations only and they could have settled the matter had the individual cooperated…”
Ratva added, “However, from the videos of the body worn camera as well as the CCTV, it is clear that the individual was not a law-abiding citizen or he would have accepted the faults pointed out by the police – These were in clear violation of traffic rules – instead of resisting and misbehaving with the police.”