Ahmedabad: PSI accused of assaulting blind street vendor inside police station

Ahmedabad: A blind street vendor has alleged that he was assaulted by a woman sub-inspector inside the Gujarat University police station on Monday over a dispute involving a minor. The incident came to light after the officer allegedly visited the victim’s residence a day later and apologised to his family, saying she felt guilty about what had happened.

According to the vendor, who runs a small kiosk in the Panchvati area, the matter unfolded on Monday afternoon when he suspected that some boys were meddling with the goods at his stall. The man, who is blind in both eyes, said he stretched out his hand after hearing a packet being torn and unintentionally caught hold of a minor, causing him a minor injury.

The vendor claimed that after the boy informed his father of the incident, the latter arrived at the kiosk and confronted him. Police were subsequently called to the spot and the vendor was taken to the Gujarat University police station for inquiry.

The victim alleged that while he was at the police station, a woman PSI walked in and assaulted him. “She slapped and kicked me, causing me to fall. But that didn’t stop her. She then hit me with a stick,” he alleged.

The vendor further alleged that despite requesting police officials to record his complaint, no formal statement was taken.

A day later, the cop visited the victim’s house along with another police official and apologised to the family. According to his family members, the sub-inspector said she had come over because she was “feeling guilty”.

The victim confirmed that the officer sought forgiveness during the visit but maintained that he wanted justice and an impartial inquiry into the incident. No official complaint had been registered in connection with the alleged incident till the filing of this report. The police official was unavailable for comment.