Rajkot: Four police personnel have been suspended and five others transferred after a State Monitoring Cell (SMC) team was attacked while raiding an alleged gambling den in Veraval town of Gir Somnath district earlier this week.

The incident occurred on July 8, when the SMC conducted a raid at the residence of Bhikhu Vaja in Veraval’s Mota Koliwada area, where an illegal gambling operation was allegedly being run. During the raid, the team was reportedly attacked by a mob, forcing an SMC officer to fire two rounds into the air to disperse the crowd, police said.

Following the incident, Veraval City police registered two separate FIRs against 34 accused.

On Sunday, Gir Somnath Superintendent of Police Jaydeepsinh Jadeja suspended four members of the surveillance squad attached to Veraval City police station for alleged negligence in the discharge of their duties during the raid. Those suspended are Assistant Sub-Inspectors Narvansinh Gohil and Ajitsinh Parmar, along with Head Constables Natubha Basiya and Pradipsinh Kher.

The SP also transferred five officers to the leave reserve in the “public interest.” They include Veraval City Police Inspector J.N. Gadhvi, Local Crime Branch (LCB) in-charge Police Inspector S.V. Rajput, LCB Police Sub-Inspectors H.L. Jebaliya and A.C. Sindhav, and Veraval City Police Sub-Inspector P.P. Prajapati.

Police said departmental action was initiated against personnel found negligent in performing their duties, while investigations into the two FIRs registered against 34 accused are ongoing. DeshGujarat