Rajkot: A disturbing case of custodial abuse has surfaced in Rajkot, Gujarat, after a video showed a sanitation worker pulling a minor’s hair inside a police station while a constable recorded the act and laughed. The boy was reportedly detained in a knife assault case when the incident occurred.
The video, which went viral, shows the sanitation worker yanking out the boy’s hair and throwing it into a dustbin as the child cries for mercy. Based on a complaint filed by the boy’s grandmother, an FIR has been registered against the sanitation worker and the constable. The boy reportedly revealed the details only after seeing the video online, weeks after his release from a juvenile remand home.
The two accused face charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 115(2), 198, and 54, along with Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, which deals with cruelty to a child. The constable has been transferred to headquarters, and the sanitation worker has been dismissed from service.
Although the complaint initially named four individuals, including a police inspector and an ACP, the FIR included only two, as police claimed the senior officers were not present during the incident. The investigation is being overseen by ACP (West) Radhika Bharai, with a separate sub-inspector handling the case.
This is the second case of custodial abuse of a minor in Gujarat in a month, prompting concern from rights groups and renewed demands for stronger police accountability.
