Times
of India: Rajkot: Monday, 25 January 2016.
Over three
years after three dalit youths were killed in police firing in Thangadh town,
their kin and community are awaiting justice.
Navsarjan
Trust, an organization working for dalit rights, has organized a sammelan in
Surendranagar town on Monday to exhort the government for speedy trails in the
case. Parents and relatives of the three young boys - Pankaj Sumra (16), Mehul
Rathod (17) and Prakash Parmar (26) - were killed in police firing on September
22 and 23, 2012.
Their deaths,
just before the state assembly polls in 2012, had sent shock waves across the
state and complaints were lodged against four police officials. Investigation
was handed over to CID (Crime).
However,
dalits rights activists say that despite three FIRs being filed against
policemen, chargesheet has been filed only in one case and one accused B C
Solanki is yet to arrested.
Pamphlets
distributed ahead of the dalit sammelan allege that government has shown a
discriminatory approach towards the community. "After the quota stir
violence, government decided to release some Patidars but dalits are not given
justice in Thangadh case where police also lodged cases against dalits,"
the pamphlets read.
The state
government in September 2012 had asked the then principal secretary, social
justice and empowerment to conduct an inquiry into the incident. However, in a
reply to an RTI application, it was revealed that the government is yet to
consider the report of the inquiry into the incident. This was revealed in
written submission by the home department to the Gujarat Information Commission
(GIC) while hearing an application filed under the Right to Information Act
(RTI).