"Poor Video Quality Hampers Identification of Officers in Public Flogging of Muslim Men Case: Chief Judicial Magistrate Informs Gujarat High Court
The incident involving the public flogging of Muslim men in Kheda district last October has faced a setback in terms of video evidence quality. A Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) addressing the Gujarat High Court has revealed that due to the substandard quality of the videos capturing the event, not all of the involved policemen and victims could be positively identified.
From the footage, only four police officers have been discernible. These individuals consist of two officers directly engaged in assaulting the victims, one officer who held their hands during the incident, and another officer situated in front of the onlooking crowd on a chair. The video, taken by plainclothes officers, depicts the victims being restrained to a pole and subjected to beatings with lathis. The crowd present can be seen cheering on the officers and chanting slogans, including 'Vande Mataram.'
In response to a directive from a division bench of Justices AS Supehia and MR Mengdey, the CJM of Nadia district conducted an examination of electronic evidence, including pen drives, related to the video capturing the police's assault on the Muslim men during a public event last October.
The victims, members of the Malek family, had initially petitioned the High Court, seeking action against the policemen for contempt of court, asserting that the officers violated the Supreme Court's guidelines established in the DK Basu v. State of West Bengal case. These guidelines outline a proper procedure for the arrest of individuals. The family was represented by Senior Advocate IH Syed.
CJM Chitra Ratnoo, in a report submitted to the High Court, highlighted the unclear nature of the video clips and photographs, largely comprising screenshots from social media posts. This lack of clarity hindered the ability to identify all 14 policemen featured in the clips. Only four officers could be conclusively identified due to these limitations.
The identified officers, according to the victims, are as follows:
- AV Parmar
- DB Kumavat
- Kanaksingh Laxmen Singh
- Raju Rameshbhai Dabhi
The CJM's report further emphasizes that the footage appears to have been taken by members of the public present at the scene and is shot from a distance. The resultant low-quality videos make it challenging to zoom in or enhance the images, leading to difficulties in identifying both the officers and the victims.
Concluding the report, the CJM states that out of the five men subjected to the police's public thrashing, only three victims could be positively identified."
TAGS: Poor Video Quality Public Flogging Muslim Men Kheda District Chief Judicial Magistrate Gujarat High Court Police Officers Victims Assault Identification Footage Social Media Chanting Slogans Division Bench Justices Examination Electronic Evidence Pen Drives Nadia District Malek Family Contempt of Court Guidelines DK Basu v. State of West Bengal Senior Advocate IH Syed Clarity Photographs Screenshots Limitations Identified Officers AV Parmar DB Kumavat Kanaksingh Laxmen Singh Raju Rameshbhai Dabhi Public Presence Distance Low-Quality Videos Challenges Conclusive Identification Conclusion.
