02, Feb 2016

Feb 02 2016 : The Times of India (Ahmedabad)
Vijaysinh Parmar
Rajkot:
The state government feels that the disclosure of an inquiry report into killing of three Dalit youths in police firing in Thangadh town of Surendranagar in 2012 may harm sovereignty and integrity of the country and incite hatred among sections of the society.

This was the reason given by the state home department while rejecting a Right to Information (RTI) application to provide inquiry report prepared by principal secretary, social justi ce and empowerment department Sanjay Prasad, with regard to the incidents.

The report has not been made public even after three-years of horrifying incident.

On intervening night of September 22 and 23, in 2012, three Dalit youths Pankaj Sumra (16), Mehul Rathod (17) and Prakash Parmar (26) were killed in police firing in Thangadh town.The police had fired while trying to control a clash between people of two communities. After the incident, state government had asked Prasad to conduct an inquiry . He had submitted the report to government on May 1, 2013. RTI and Dalit rights activist Kirit Rathod had filed an RTI application in January 2013 seeking copy of Prasad’s inquiry report but was denied. He then approached the Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) demanding copy of Prasad’s report last year. The GIC had directed the home department to provide details of the report except for those that are exempted under RTI Act.