Jignesh Mevani alleges threat to life from top cop in Gujarat accused of extrajudicial killing : Valley Vision

Jignesh Mevani, Congress MLA from Gujarat and convener of the Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, on Monday, alleged threat to his life from Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) (SC/ST Cell) Rajkumar Pandian.

A conflict between the prominent Dalit politician and the police officer had been escalating since 15 October, when Jignesh had met Rajkumar over misbehaviour.

“If I, any of my family members, or any of my team members are murdered like Baba Siddique, then only and only IPS officer Rajkumar Pandian will be responsible. The entire state of Gujarat knows the character of this officer, who has served seven years in prison for a fake encounter case. No matter what happens, I will never stop fighting for the dignity and self-respect of Dalits, backward classes, and Bahujans in Gujarat and the country,” read a social media post by Mevani.

Jignesh had said that the top cop misbehaved with him during a meeting to discuss the issues of Dalits in Gujarat, such as the alleged land encroachment at Kutch district.

In a letter, Jignesh said Rajkumar asked him and his friend to keep his mobile phone away from the room where the meeting was to take place. When Jignesh asked for the legal provision under which the request was made, Rajkumar became agitated and said we might be recording, the letter said. The phone was seized after this.

Following the incident, the MLA had moved a privilege motion against the ADGP in the state Assembly.

Dalit organisations in the state had also sought the ADGP’s removal within 24 hours.

The Dalit outfits also threatened to campaign against BJP in the upcoming Vav assembly constituency bypoll in Gujarat and general assembly elections in Maharashtra if the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Gujarat government did not remove Pandian from the ADGP’s post within 24 hours, Indian Express reported.

Rajkumar was an accused in the encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in November 2005. He was later absolved by the court.

Sheikh’s wife Kausar Bi was killed two days after his death. His aide and an eye-witness to the alleged killing, Tulsiram Prajapati, was also murdered on December 28, 2006. According to a CBI probe, Rajkumar was part of the fake encounter plot right from its inception. He was in the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) which picked Sheikh and Kauser Bi. The CBI had alleged that the police had acted on the orders of the then Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah.