Ahmedabad: The Gujarat State Human Rights Commission has directed compensation and action against police personnel in two separate cases involving alleged police excesses and negligence. In the first case, the commission took suo motu cognisance of a report stating that a youth died after being allegedly beaten by police and that his family refused to accept the body from the Civil Hospital. The commission then sought reports from the Botad district magistrate and the superintendent of police.The reports revealed that an individual named Kalu Padarshi was brought to Botad town police station for interrogation and sent back home with his guardian. Three days later, he developed paralysis-like symptoms and died during treatment at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital. A case was subsequently registered on charges including murder and voluntarily causing hurt.Holding that the death occurred due to police harassment, the commission recommended that the legal heirs of the deceased be paid Rs 2 lakh in compensation and directed action against those involved. In another case from Rajkot, the commission intervened after police allegedly treated a murder as a heart attack. It initiated suo motu proceedings, seeking a factual report from the Rajkot city police commissioner. The report stated that the victim, 17-year-old Harsil Chaudhary, had fallen unconscious and was admitted to a govt hospital in Rajkot, where he was declared dead the following day. Initially, a case of accidental death was registered at Kuvadva police station. However, after the commission intervened, a fresh police investigation led to the registration of offences, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety.Police arrested the accused, obtained a remand and initiated legal proceedings. Departmental disciplinary action was also initiated against police personnel found negligent. The commission said it had ensured proper registration of the offence and appropriate action in the case.BOX: 93 custodial deaths in Gujarat in 2024-25A GSHRC report stated that 93 custodial deaths were reported in 2024-25. Of these, 79 were in jail, and 14 in police custody. The report stated that of the 79 deaths in jails, a maximum of 24 were in Ahmedabad city, followed by 11 in Rajkot and 10 in Vadodara city. Of the 14 deaths in police custody, three each were from Ahmedabad and Rajkot city, two each from Ahmedabad Rural and Surat city, and one each from Rajkot rural, Surat Rural, Junagadh, and Valsad.
