‘Least you must do’: Gujarat High Court asks for cop’s transfer over torture

The Gujarat High Court Friday orally directed the state to transfer a senior IPS officer serving as Deputy Commissioner of Police in Surat, saying his continued presence in the city could undermine an inquiry into allegations that he publicly beat and humiliated accused persons.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice D N Ray was hearing suo motu PIL proceedings over videos allegedly showing handcuffed accused persons being paraded and assaulted in public. “You have to transfer him. The least you must do,” the court told the state after Government Pleader GH Virk informed that the officer continued to serve in Surat.

Friday’s proceedings followed a July 14 representation by Advocate Utkarsh Dave to Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal, seeking immediate judicial scrutiny of videos circulating on social media. The videos allegedly showed Rajdeepsinh Nakum, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Surat, accompanied by 15 to 20 police personnel, parading handcuffed accused persons on public roads and repeatedly assaulting them with lathis.

In his representation, Dave alleged that the accused were "dragged by their hair, slapped and beaten in full public view under the supervision of senior police officers." The Gujarat High Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter on July 22, with the Secretary, Home Department, named as a respondent.