Police chowki attacked during funeral procession

VADODARA: It panned out on expected lines but cops’ swift action on Sunday prevented an untoward incident from snowballing into a major issue in Godhra after some miscreants pelted stones at a police chowki in Patelwada during the funeral procession of the man who allegedly committed suicide in police custody.
Anticipating tension, police force were already deployed in large numbers along the route of the funeral procession, said Dr Leena Patil, superintendent of Panchmahal police.
While no offence was registered until late in the evening, cops were trying to identify the miscreants.
“A few stones were pelted but there was no serious damage as we contained the situation in time. We are trying to identify the stone pelters from CCTV camera footage and once we identify the culprits we will register an FIR,” she said.
A large crowd had turned up for the funeral of Kasim Hayat, a meat seller, who died in the custody of B Division police station on the night of September 15. Hayat was detained on September 14 while he was carrying beef on his scooter, a day before his death.
Hayat’s family had initially refused to accept the body after post-mortem as they alleged that he died of police brutality. A judicial inquiry is being conducted into the incident even as family members have submitted a complaint to the police as well as a local court.
On Sunday, leaders of the minority community from Ahmedabad and Vadodara met senior police officials in Godhra to submit a memorandum seeking suspension of H N Patel, inspector of B Division police station.