Four police officials and personal were suspended by the District Superintendent of Police, Navsari Hrishikesh Upadhyay in connection with custodial death of two 19-year-old vehicle theft suspects who died by suicide in Chikhli police Station premises during early morning hours of 22nd July 2021. Among the suspended are Inspector AR Wala of Chikhli Police station, Sub Inspector MB Kokni, Head Constable Shaktisinh Zala and police constable Ramji Yadav.
SP of Navsari, Upadhyay said that while the magisterial inquiry was ongoing, on the instructions of the government they had separately asked for a quick report on the deaths of the two youths. “We had given this inquiry to DSP RD Faldu of SC/ST cell. His report clearly mentioned that the two youths, Ravi Jadav and Sunil Pawar were kept in police custody without making an entry in the Station Dairy. Hence all four have been suspended” added Upadhyay.
In an incident which took place in Chikhli police station during the early morning hours of 22nd July 2021, two 19-year-old youths Ravi Jadav 19 and Sunil Pawar, both residents of Vaghai village of Dang district died by suicide inside computer room of Chikhli police station. They had used computer wires to hang themselves, said a police source.
Senior police sources said that both were detained by PSI Kokni and his staff which included Head Constable Zala and Police Constable Yadav on 21st July 2021 with a moped, which seemed to have been allegedly stolen. However, both Jadav and Pawar were not arrested on record and were just detained without even informing their families.
Top Police sources said that both were intercepted in Chikhli while they were travelling on a moped.
Senior police sources said when asked, both the suspects were not able to produce the documents of the moped. On suspicion they were brought to Chikhli police station and kept in the computer room for further interrogation.
During the early hours of 21st July 2021, both were found hanging inside the computer room of Chikhli Police Station. Inspector AR Wala of Chikhli police station was also quizzed at that time.
SP Navsari, Hrishikesh Upadhyay said that they have registered a case of accidental death and also taking the whole incident as custodial death.
Meanwhile session judge of Navsari court has been asked to conduct an independent inquiry into the incident. The postmortem of the two deceased was conducted in the Forensic Department of Surat Civil hospital under the panel of five doctors along with videography.
