Ahmedabad Police on a Rampage in a Ghetto of DNT Tribe Chhara at Midnight, Arrests 29

It was around 12.30 in the night on May 26, when people of Chharanagar, a ghetto of Chhara community in Ahmedabad, woke up to the sound of policemen banging lathis on their closed doors, shouting and abusing.

With some Chharas being gamblers and bootleggers in a dry state, police raid is usual in the area. However, nobody anticipated the intensity of the situation until they realised it wasn’t a usual police raid.

About 50 police vans with about 500 police personnel stormed the ghetto of Chharas, cordoned off the area till 5 in the morning, and thrashed the locals indiscriminately.

Chharas, a denotified tribe has also been declared a criminal tribe under the Criminal Tribe Act of 1871. Noticeably, the Chharas were a nomadic tribe until the law enacted by British declared them ‘criminal’ that curtailed their movement. Ever since, due to the stigma and being subjected to discrimination, Chharas have been forced into bootlegging, petty thefts and gambling. However, over the years, many Chharas have struggled to break the stigma. There are Chharas who are advocates, theatre artists, activists today, all of whom have been raising their voice against branding the whole community as that of criminals.

The area, about two kilometre from Naroda Patiya, Ahmedabad, a place that was worst affected in the riots of 2002, is abode of about 6,000 families of Chhara community.

“It was around 12.30 in the night and we were preparing to sleep when we heard noise outside. Police was thrashing our cars and two wheelers and people of the area were screaming and running to save themselves from getting beaten. I stepped out of my house and saw a series of police vans speed past me inside Chharanagar,” Atish Indrekar, theatre artist and activist associated with Budhan theatre told Newsclick.

He narrated the ordeal: “My cousin came to check on us amid the chaos and police thrashed him in front of me. That is when I called the Ahmedabad police control room who told me that they are unable to enter Chharanagar to rescue, as they were being stopped from entering the area. Meanwhile, police kept on abusing, thrashing Chharas indiscriminately. I went out, and asked some of the police personnel the reason for damaging our vehicles. Responding to my question, two personnel held me and a third started beating me. They dragged me to the police van and as we walked, number of police personnel thrashing me from behind kept increasing. They kicked on my back and I fell inside the police van. Meanwhile, my uncle and photojournalist Pravin Indrekar who tried to click photos of the atrocity was caught by police. His camera worth Rs one lakh was broken into pieces and he was beaten till he suffered multiple fractures on his hand. Some locals called 108 emergency medical ambulance services. The ambulance was first stopped by the police outside Chharanagar, but later they allowed it inside to take my uncle for treatment. He was arrested as soon as he was released from hospital.”

Police had arrested 29 Chharas after the rampage including women. All of them have 11 FIRs against them of charges like looting and rioting under sections 392,332,333,143,147,148,149, 337, 427, 341 and 186 of the Indian Penal Code. Of the 29, Pravin Indrekar is a prominent photojournalist, Atish Indrekar a theatre artist and activist and three others are senior advocates. Rest are vegetable vendors, real estate brokers, labourers, but none are purportedly bootleggers. On August 1, 8 out of the 29 were released after being granted bail by the sessions court of Ahmedabad.

“In the police lockup, we were thrashed again. I asked for water, but nobody gave me water for about three hours. I used water from toilet to wet my lips as I was very thirsty. After we were transferred to the jail, the men were strip-searched,” said Atish, who is now released and is under treatment.

“There was no lady police personnel, and male personnel manhandled and thrashed our women. Even old and pregnant women weren’t spared,” claimed Dakxin Bajrange, a theatre artist and Chhara activist who was thrashed by police as he tried saving his mother-in-law. His car that was parked just outside the house was damaged.

Reportedly, on the evening of May 27, police sub-inspector DK Mori and head constable Mahendra Sinh Baldeo Sinh had come to Chharanagar in a private car. They began inquiring two locals. When the conversation became heated, the local Chhara youths allegedly abused the police personnel. Following the incident, the police rampaged Chharanagar late that night, damaging more than 80 vehicles, including auto rickshaws that belonged to Chharas who drove auto for living. Police broke the doors and entered house of Chharas, breaking ceiling fans, washing machines, television, bulbs etc.

“It was madness that lasted till 5 am in the morning. Most of us didn’t realise initially what was happening,” says Abhishek Indrekar, a young filmmaker and resident of Chharanagar.

“I managed to run away and hide when police were chasing and hitting men, women and children,” he adds.

As per a fact-finding committee headed by Shamshad Pathan, advocate and activist associated with Jan Sangharsh Manch and Alp Sankhyak Adhikar Manch, human rights organisations based in Ahmedabad, most people were either sleeping or watching television who came out when they heard the sound of someone banging their vehicles. Almost everybody who came out hearing the noise were thrashed indiscriminately. Around 80 people are injured out of which 25 have suffered grievous injuries.

Police arrested three from one Chhara household and thrashed a woman who is paralytic. In another household, a pregnant woman was pushed and a young boy was thrashed. Most of the families didn’t know why the police had raided with such huge force. Another local named Atul Gagdekar, who is a diabetic, and has survived cardiac arrest twice, was sleeping in his house when police broke into his house and started slapping his 16-year-old daughter. When he intervened, police beat him with their baton and arrested him.

An army personnel’s car was also damaged just for the reason that he is a Chhara. Notably, locals claim that DK Mori, the PSI in concern has had a history of abusing and raiding Chharanagar without official protocol.

“On that night, I recognised Mori and Joint Commissioner of police (JCP) Ashok Yadav on the spot. In fact, it was JCP Yadav who shouted and ordered to take me away as I was a Chhara,” said Atish.

“Sixteen victims have so far recorded their statements in court number 17 of Metro court Ahmedabad,” said Ankur Garage, advocate, who is handling the bail application of the 29 arrested.

On July 29, Chharas held a unique protest in the city – a besna, a funeral ritual of, as they stated, law and order of the State. In a huge gathering as women performed marsi (a loud crying ritual following a death), children held placards that said ‘I am Chhara, not a criminal’. After that, they silently walked to the concerned police station and presented roses to the police.

The Chharas are now demanding that action be taken against the concerned police officers. Amid demand for forming an SIT, the charge of the investigation has been handed over to Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) and Special Operation Group (SOG), Ahmedabad.

“SOG is looking at the police complaints against Chharas and Deepen Bhadran, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), DCB investigating into allegations made by the Chharas. Nine of the 29 arrested have got bail and rest will also get bail in all likelihood,” said BC Solanki, ACP SOG, Ahmedabad.