DCP, three others booked for assault, extortion of businessman during illegal custody in Surat

Surat: A local court in the city has issued warrants against four individuals, including a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), for the alleged beating and extortion of a businessman in police custody at the Vesu Police Station in December 2023.

The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate A.A. Vayada ordered the filing of a criminal case under IPC Sections 232 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 384 (extortion) against the accused and issued bailable warrants of Rs 10,000 for each individual. The accused are Vijay Gurjar, DCP of Zone 4; R.Y. Rawal, the former inspector at Vesu Police Station; police constable Shardul Mer of the same station; and Abhishek Goswami.

The case involves businessman Tushar Shah, who was assaulted while in police custody, even after being granted anticipatory bail by the Supreme Court.

The accused inspector of Vesu Police Station, R.Y. Rawal, arrested Tushar Shah on December 13, leading to a four-day police custody in connection with a cheating case filed by Abhishek Goswami. It is alleged that during custody, Shah was tortured and threatened to settle outstanding dues amounting to Rs 1.65 crore owed to Goswami.

Shah, who had obtained anticipatory bail on December 8, filed a contempt petition in the apex court. At that time, the Supreme Court had expressed strong criticism towards the magistrate for allowing remand despite the victim having received anticipatory bail. DeshGujarat