Mevani raises alarm after Gujarat cops discuss his 'encounter' on WhatsApp
Dalit activist groups in Gujarat have sought registration of offence and preventive detention of police officers who have threatened to ‘bump off ’ Dalit leader and newly elected legislator Jignesh Mevani.
Representatives of Dalit Muslim Ekta Manch, Hamari Awaz and Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch submitted a memorandum to the director general of police of the state on Saturday seeking registration of an offence and arrest of the concerned police officers and men after Mevani raised the issue on his twitter handle citing the discussion between two police officers on a Whatsapp group.
His tweet read, “Jignesh Mevani’s encounter? Here is the link to a web portal which exposes a Whatsapp communication where two top cops are discussing how I could be killed in an encounter. Can you believe this?” he had tweeted.
Mevani was referring to two police officials who inferred as much in a WhatsApp group ‘ADR Police & Media’ which has numerous cops and media persons in it. In fact two videos were posted in the group recently, wherein in one video a group of policemen were seen allegedly thrashing a person looking like a politician and the other video carried an interview of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath wherein he is said to be defending the state police in relation to recent encounters carried out in his state.
The two videos were followed by a message by a superintendent rank police officer, which read: “Those who seek to become the ‘baap’ (fathers) of police, refer to police as ‘lakhota’ (marbles) and those who seek to take videos of police should remember that with people like you, the police will be like this. Scores will be settled - Gujarat Police.”
The statement apparently referred to an incident of February 18, where in a video showing Mevani in an argument with a cop during the process of his detention, just before his call for Ahmedabad bandh in protest against death of Dalit activist Bhanubhai Vankar, had gone viral on social media.
The message by the DySP was soon followed by his senior who shared a few ‘smiley’ icons in response.
The activists have now sought registering of a FIR under Cyber Crime law and expressed “hope” that the DGP will take proper action against the errant cops.