A man accused of fatally assaulting his live-in partner at a bus stand in Gujarat's Bhavnagar city was thrashed by police at the same spot during a crime scene reconstruction, with officials defending the action as a response to the brutality of the murder.
The viral video showed the man writhing in pain as he was mercilessly beaten for several minutes on the lower torso using a thick, lathi-like object by a uniformed policeman. He was tied to the back of a police jeep using ropes—the ends of which were held steady by two other officers.
A police inspector claimed they had to "go the extra mile", treating the incident as a "rarest of rare case", as it dented their reputation and eroded public faith in the force.
A video of the accused, identified as Faizal Lakhani, tied with ropes and dragged around while being hit with a baton on Saturday, was shared widely on social media platforms.
Inspector D. P. Unadkat from the Neelam Bagh police station said the clip of Lakhani violently assaulting the woman in full public view severely tarnished the image of the police, leading people to say that they had lost faith in the force.
"The general public feels that law and order has collapsed. Thugs are killing women and girls while the police remain helpless, and that the public can only watch. In such extreme cases, it becomes essential to send a strong message to criminals," he said.
The flogging was necessary to address the "disrepute" the police had suffered, the official said.
The victim, Kajal Baraiya, and Lakhani had been living together on a footpath for nearly seven years. The accused has a history of criminal cases against him, including charges of robbery and other serious offences.
Upon his release from jail, he recently found that his partner was in a relationship with his acquaintance Ravi, which led to a confrontation on Thursday.
Lakhani assaulted Kajal and Ravi. Kajal was admitted to the government-run Sir T. Hospital in the city, where she succumbed to her injuries during treatment. The accused was held on Friday for murder.
Notably, in a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) in the Gujarat High Court regarding some accused persons being beaten in public by a police officer in Surat, the amicus curiae submitted that the state home department had issued a circular on May 7 restricting such conduct.
Actions such as forcing the accused to perform sit-ups or crawl on their knees in public, or kicking or beating them with a stick, would invite strict disciplinary action, it said.
"Any officer or employee found engaging in such conduct will face strict disciplinary action, and the senior officers of the respective area will be held accountable," the circular said.
