Bhavnagar, A man accused of fatally assaulting his live-in partner at a bus stand in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar city was thrashed by police at the same spot during a crime scene reconstruction, with officials defending the action as a response to the brutality of the murder.
Inspector D P Unadkat from the Neelam Bagh police station said the clip of Lakhani violently assaulting the woman in full public view severely tarnished the image of the police, leading people to say that they had lost faith in the force. “The general public feels that law and order has collapsed. Thugs are killing women and girls, while the police remain helpless, and that the public can only watch.
Notably, in a suo motu public interest litigation in the Gujarat High Court on some accused persons being beaten in public by a police officer in Surat, the amicus curiae submitted that the state home department had issued a circular on May 7, restricting such conduct.
A police inspector claimed they had to “go the extra mile”, treating the incident as a “rarest of rare case”, as it dented their reputation and eroded public faith in the force. In such extreme cases, it becomes essential to send a strong message to criminals,” he said. The flogging was necessary to address the “disrepute” the police had suffered, the official said.
Victim Kajal Baraiya and Lakhani had been living together on a footpath for nearly seven years. The accused has a history of criminal cases against him, including charges of robbery and other serious offences.
“Any officer or employee found engaging in such conduct will face strict disciplinary action, and the senior officers of the respective area will be held accountable,” the circular said.
