Pic: DGP PandeyB D Narayankar
In a bid to woo Muslim voters in upcoming Lok Sabha elections, chief minister Narendra Modi's government in Gujarat has appointed its first Muslim police chief S S Khandvawala after replacing DGP P C Pandey here on Saturday.
Pandey has been posted as the head of the state anti-corruption bureau.
It is speculated that Modi has appointed Khandvawala to assuage Muslim feelings in the wake of Godra riots.
Khandvawala is an IPS officer of 1973 batch.
The new police chief has a chequered history. He was sentenced to imprisonment by a Junagadh fast-track court for beating up a detenu in police custody, causing serious injury.
Khandvawala was sentenced to five years imprisonment. The case dates back to October 1976, when farmer Sutreja was arrested by Khandwawala, then a DSP, for allegedly possessing illegal weapons. The farmer pleaded that he had already deposited his licensed weapon, but he was kept in police custody for 36 hours despite complaining of chest pain.
After a month spent in and out of hospital, Sutreja left Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital on a wheelchair on November 2, 1976. He filed a case of custodial torture the same month.
The day after the Junagadh court convicted Khandwawala and three other policemen, the ADGP challenged the order in Gujarat High Court. He is now out on bail.
Pandey, a 1972-batch IPS officer, was the Ahmedabad Police Commissioner during the 2002 post-Godhra riots. The city was one of the worst affected cities in Gujarat.
He was appointed DGP in 2006 after he was repatriated from the Central deputation.
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