Chikhli custodial deaths: Inspector, head constable arrested

SURAT: Two suspended cops — police inspector A R Vala and head constable Shaktisinh Zala — were arrested by the Navsari police on Friday in connection with the custodial death of two tribal youths in Chikhli police station on July 21. This is the first arrest in the case, said police.
The accused were on the run since July 28 after an offence was registered against them and three other cops of Chikhli police station.Besides Vala and Zala, others booked in the case include constable Ramji Gayaprasad Yadav, lok rakshak dal (LRD) jawan Ravindra Rathore and sub-inspector M B Konkni.
All five accused were booked for murder, kidnapping, extortion, conspiracy and other sections of the Indian Penal Code. The accused were also charged under sections of The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Yadav, Rathore and Konkni are yet to be arrested.
The FIR in the case was filed by Mitesh Jadhav, brother of one of the deceased.
According to case details, Sunil Pawar and Raavi Jadhav, both 19-years-old, were found hanging from the ceiling fan in a room of the police station. The native of Dang district were not formally arrested by the police but were detained over suspicion for being involved in a theft case. Police had initially said that the duo committed suicide.
Multiple demonstrations demanding strict actions against the accused were held by tribal communities in Navsari over the past two months.