If I Am Murdered Like Baba Siddiqui, Rajkumar Pandian Will Be Responsible: Jignesh Mevani (image-Facebook/Jignesh Mevani)
Gujarat Congress working president and Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani took to X and claimed that if he is killed, then Gujarat IPS officer Rajkumar Pandian will be responsible for his death.
Referring to former NCP leader Baba Siddique, who was shot dead by three assailants, Mevani said that if anything happened to him, his family members or his team, Pandian would be the only responsible person behind it. Gujarat IPS officer Rajkumar Pandian has not responded to Mevani’s accusations yet.
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“The entire Gujarat knows the character of this officer who has spent 7 years in jail in a fake encounter case. Whatever happens, I will never give up the fight for the self-respect of the Dalits, backward and Bahujans of Gujarat and the country,” tweeted Mevani.
If I am killed, IPS officer Rajkumar Pandiyan will be responsible for my death!
बाबा सिद्दीकी की तरह यदि मेरी, मेरे परिवारजनों की या मेरी टीम के साथियों में से किसी की भी हत्या होती है तो उसकी लिए केवल और केवल IPS राजकुमार पांडियन ज़िम्मेदार होंगे।
फर्जी एनकाउंटटर के मामले… pic.twitter.com/8gr7oskRyA
— Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) October 21, 2024
On October 16, Mevani wrote to Gujarat Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary seeking a privilege motion against the IPS officer for allegedly violating Mevani’s dignity as an MLA. According to reports, when the Vadgam MLA and Hitesh Pithadia, Congress’ scheduled caste department chairman, visited the police headquarters to raise Dalit issues, he was asked to leave his mobile phone outside by the Additional Director General (ADG) of the Gujarat SC/ST Cell.
Mevani then sought to know the legal provision under which Pandian was asking them to keep phones outside the government office. As per reports, a heated argument ensued between Mevani and Pandian, who got agitated and allegedly asked his staff to take their phone stating that they may be recording.
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Following the incident, the MLA filed a written application calling for a detailed investigation against the senior IPS officer. The Congress MLA also alleged that Pandian had made comments on his attire and pointed out that he was visiting the police official wearing a t-shirt.
The assembly speaker’s office has not issued any statement over Mevani’s demand so far.
Who Is IPS Rajkumar Pandian?
Pandian was discharged by the special CBI court in Mumbai on August 25, 2016 in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh fake encounter case. On November 26, 2005, gangster Sohrabuddin and his wife, Kausar Bi, were killed in an encounter by Gujarat Police.
As per the CBI chargesheet, Pandian was part of the state police team led by D G Vanzara that had picked up Sohrabuddin and his wife and had staged the encounter near Ahmedabad. The chargesheet also stated that Pandian played a crucial role during each stage of the execution. He was also accused of killing Tulsi Prajapati, an eyewitness in the encounter case.
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After spending seven years in jail, Pandian became the 12th accused to be acquitted. The first accused to be acquitted was BJP chief Amit Shah.
Pandian was reinstated by Gujarat Police in 2014 and rehabilitated as Liasioning Officer at the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation, according to India Today.
