One extra held in Mundra custodial deaths case

Kapil Desai, one of many 5 police constables needed within the Mundra custodial deaths case, surrendered earlier than the Kutch (west) Police and a neighborhood courtroom despatched him to police remand for 3 days, police mentioned on Sunday.
Kapil Desai, a police constable hooked up to the Mundra police station and a local of Chandkheda in Ahmedabad, surrendered after being on the run for greater than a month. “Desai surrendered before officers of the Local Crime Branch (LCB) in Bhuj and was arrested formally. He was produced in a court in Mundra on Saturday and the court granted us his custody for three days,” Jayesh Panchal, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) of Bhuj division of Kutch (west) Police, advised The Indian Express.
Panchal is the investigating officer of the case towards three police constables. Arjan Gadhvi and Harjog Gadvhi, each residents of Samaghogha village of Kutch district’s mundra taluka, have been allegedly tortured to demise by the accused inside Mundra police station in January. While Arjan had died on January 19, Harjog had succumbed to his accidents on February 6 whereas present process therapy in a hospital in Ahmedabad. The third sufferer, Shamla Gadhvi, nevertheless, survived.
With Desai’s arrest, the variety of arrests on this case has gone as much as seven. Police had earlier arrested then Mundra police inspector JA Padhiyar, house guards Viraj Joshi Shambu Ahir, constable Gafurji Thakor and civilians Narvirsinh Sarvaiya and Jayvirsinh Jadeja.

Jayvirsinh is the previous sarpanch of Samaghogha village. The victims’ households allege that the policemen beat Arjan and Harjog to demise on the behest of the previous sarpanch because of a land dispute. According to an FIR registered at Mundra police station, a number of policemen picked up Arjan on January 13 as a suspect in a home break-in incident and in a while, Harjog and Shalma on January 16. After Arjan died on January 19, Shaktisinh Gohil, Ashok Kannad and Jaydevsinh Jhala, head constables who have been a part of the crime detection workforce of Mundra police station, have been booked for homicide.
“However, the three accused policemen named in the FIR are still on the run. We have approached court to declare them proclaimed offenders,” Panchal additional mentioned.
While Jayvirsinh was arrested from Maharashtra, Narvirsinh was arrested from Rajasthan for allegedly serving to the accused.

The DySP added that the land dispute was not the one motive of the murders. “This is a case of custodial deaths, though the former sarpanch had had a vested interest and the crime was committed in the backdrop of the land dispute between the Gadhvis and the Jadeja family,” added the IO.
The remaining six accused are presently in judicial custody.