After claiming harassment by cop, Dalit man ‘dies by suicide’ in Rajkot village

The FIR, registered at Kotda Sangani Police Station on the basis of a complaint filed by Ramesh’s brother Jignesh Soyaliya, names Ashok Dangar, a police constable attached to the police station.

A Dalit man from the Satapar village of Rajkot, who had claimed that he was harassed by a police constable following the death of his wife, died after he allegedly consumed poison on Tuesday. His family initially refused to claim the body, demanding the police constable be booked for abetting suicide. The last rites were performed after an FIR was filed in the case.

The FIR, registered at Kotda Sangani Police Station on the basis of a complaint filed by Ramesh’s brother Jignesh Soyaliya, names Ashok Dangar, a police constable attached to the police station. The constable has been booked under IPS section 306 (abetment to suicide) as well as under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The FIR quotes Jignesh as saying that Dangar called  Ramesh to Kotda Sangani Police Station at least four times after Ramesh’s wife Ratan hanged herself at their home in Satapar village on August 3 this year.

 “Investigation was going on in this matter and Ashok Dangar called my brother four to five times but did not record his statement. Additionally, on August 12, Kotda Sangani police called my elder brother, Rameshbhai Arjanbhai Soyaliya, accusing him of killing his wife, and warning that he would be framed for the crime. He used to harass my brother physically and mentally. Due to this, my brother was forced to consume poisonous tablets used for preserving wheat inside our shop yesterday,” the FIR quotes 31-year-old Jignesh as having claimed.

According to the FIR, Ramesh consumed poison at around 3:30 pm on Tuesday. He was rushed to a hospital in Rajkot where he died at around 6:30 pm. His body was shifted to the state government-run Rajkot Civil Hospital for post-mortem. However, after the post-mortem was done, Ramesh’s family refused to claim the body, demanding that a case be registered against the constable.

Accompanied by a Rajkot-based Dalit activist DD Solanki, and Congress leader Vashram Sagathiya, Jignesh met Jaipal Singh Rathore, Superintendent of Rajkot Rural Police, later in the day, demanding a case against Dangar under the IPC section 306 as well as under Atrocities Act.

After meeting the SP,  Ramesh’s family members and Dalit leaders sat on dharna in front of the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar at the Civil Hospital Chowk with Solanki claiming that police were not registering an FIR against the constable. “This despite there being a video recorded by Ramesh’s brother-in-law after Ramesh consumed poison and in which Ramesh alleges harassment by Dangar,” Solanki said.

However, at around 4 pm, police recorded Jignesh’s complaint and filed an FIR. “After police launched an FIR on the basis of a complaint given by Jignesh, the family claimed the body at around 7 pm and took it to Satapar to perform his last rites,” Sagathiya said.

In the purported video, which the family cited, Ramesh, who was in his 30s, is heard saying that the constable used to harass him after the death of his wife. “Dangar wanted to extort money from me and therefore used to harass me every day. He used to tell me that even if the other party doesn’t file a complaint, he will do it and fix me (in a case)… He used to accuse me of having an affair with another woman and that I had killed my wife. But as a matter of fact, I had not killed her. Yet, he used to threaten me that he will get me punished,” Ramesh, a  labourer, is heard stating in the purported video, before adding that he had no money to pay the constable. The Satapar village falls under the jurisdiction of Kotda Sangani Police Station.

Rathore said the police launched an FIR as per the family’s complaint. He, however, added that records suggested that the police constable never met the Dalit man at the police station. “There is nothing on record that the policeman ever met the man or the police went to his home. However, after the man’s wife died due to suicide in the first week of August, a case of unnatural death was registered at Kotda Sangani police station and an investigation was going on. The victim’s family had claimed that she died by suicide because her husband had an illicit relationship with her sister. Therefore, police were probing a prima facie case of abetment to suicide against the man and the policeman did make a phone call to him to get his statement recorded,” said Rathore.

The SP further said the FIR was launched against the constable as per the complaint given by Ramesh’s brother. “There was a video circulating on social media in which the man is seen taking the name of the constable. While nowhere is there a mention of atrocity, we have added sections of that Act also after he was booked under IPC Section 306,” said Rathore.

Courtesy : TIE

Note: This news piece was originally published in theindianexpress.com and used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes exclusively for Human Right