Gujarat IAS officer thrashed, held hostage during project inspection: Report
An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer was reportedly thrashed and held hostage by a group of individuals associated with fishing activity during his recent visit to a village near Gujarat's Dharoi Dam in Sabarkantha district, the police revealed on Wednesday. It is learned that the inspection visit was planned after the detection of irregularities in a fisheries project.
Details of the attack on IAS officer in Gujarat village
IAS officer Nitin Sangwan reportedly visited the village on Monday with DN Patel, a senior fisheries department official from Palanpur, and other junior staff to inspect a fisheries project wherein the Gujarat government provides a subsidy to local contractors to start "cage culture fishing" in the dam water. In the attack, Sangwan sustained multiple injuries but was successfully out of danger, police said.
FIR filed at Vadali police station
In an FIR to the Vadali police station, Patel claimed that a fishing contractor named Babu Parmar started arguing with Sangwan after realizing that the IAS officer had caught his wrongdoings and might take legal steps against him. The accused allegedly became enraged and bit Sangwan near his knees. Four other men later arrived and thrashed the IAS officer, the FIR stated.
Parmar threatened to throw Sangwan, his team into dam
The FIR also alleges that the accused called in a dozen more men, who arrived at the location armed with sticks and held the official and his team hostage until they agreed to sign on a piece of paper, guaranteeing they would not file a complaint against him. Furthermore, the complaint claims that Parmar threatened to throw Sangwan and his team into the dam.
Three individuals involved in attack arrested
As per Sabarkantha district superintendent of police (DSP) Vishal Vaghela, the police arrested three individuals for their reported involvement in the attack on the IAS officer on Monday. "While three persons involved in the crime have already been arrested, efforts were on to identify and nab the other accused," DSP Vaghela told the news agency PTI.
Police reveal identities of arrested individuals in case
The police identified the three arrested individuals as Nilesh Gamar, Dilip Parmar, and Vishnu Gamar. Parmar and his associates have been charged under numerous Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections, including 189 (threat of injury to public servant), 147 (rioting), 342 (wrongful confinement), 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death), 332 (causing hurt to public servant), and 353 (assaulting public servant).
