Five Muslim men who were publicly flogged, in Gujarat’s Kheda fistrict in October last year, have refused to accept the compensation from the four accused police officers, they told the Gujarat High Court on Monday.
The five victims were beaten up by police officers from Kheda’s Matar police station for allegedly throwing stones at a crowd during a Navratri celebration, in Undhela village. Videos of the incident had gone viral across online platforms.
Senior counsel Prakash Jani, who represents the accused cops, told the high court verbally on Monday that despite a constructive discussion between the parties, the victims opted not to Settle the matter after consulting their family and community members.
In his statement to the HC bench, senior attorney Prakash Jani said, “We had a very productive and rigorous meeting with senior counsel I H Syed who is representing the victims. In fact, some of the petitioners were present. However, despite the best efforts, I’ve received word that the victims have refused to accept any compromise and compensation after speaking with their family or community members.”
The court noted that the “parties have failed in settlement,” and the complainants have stated that they will not compromise. The verdict will be delivered on October 19 by a division bench led by Justices A S Supehia and Gita Gopi.
The victims, Jahirmiya Malek, 62, Maksudabanu Malek, 45, Sahadmiya Malek, 23, Sakilmiya Malek, 24, and Shahidraja Malek, 25, petitioned the High Court last year against 13 police officers from Kheda.
In addition to seeking compensation, they argued that the 15 officers, including the Ahmedabad Range IG and Kheda SP, should be “punished for con-tempt and non-compliance” with the rules laid out by the Supreme Court in the case of D K Basu versus West Bengal.—KMS
