Jignesh Mevani, Congress MLA from Gujarat, on Monday, October 21, alleged threat to his life from Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) (SC/ST Cell) Rajkumar Pandian. A conflict between the Vadgam MLA and the police officer had been escalating since October 15, when Jignesh had met Rajkumar over misbehaviour. 

In a social media post, Jignesh wrote, “If I, any of my family members, or any of my team members are murdered like Baba Siddique, then only and only IPS officer Rajkumar Pandian will be responsible. The entire state of Gujarat knows the character of this officer, who has served seven years in prison for a fake encounter case. No matter what happens, I will never stop fighting for the dignity and self-respect of Dalits, backward classes, and Bahujans in Gujarat and the country.”

Rajkumar, an accused in the encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in November 2005, was later absolved by the court. Sohrabuddin Sheikh’s wife Kausar Bi was killed two days after his death. His aide and an eye-witness to the alleged killing, Tulsiram Prajapati, was murdered on December 28, 2006. According to a CBI investigation, Rajkumar was part of the fake encounter plot right from its inception. He was in the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) which picked Sohrabuddin and Kauser Bi. The CBI had alleged that the police had acted on the orders of the then Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah.  

Jignesh had said that Rajkumar misbehaved with him during a meeting to discuss the issues of Dalits in Gujarat, such as the alleged land encroachment at Kutch district. In a letter, Jignesh said the police officer asked him and his friend to keep his mobile phone away from the room where the meeting was to take place. When Jignesh asked for the legal provision under which the request was made, Rajkumar became agitated and said we might be recording, the letter said. The phone was seized after this. 

Following the incident, the MLA had moved a privilege motion against the ADGP in the state Assembly. Dalit organisations in the state had also sought the ADGP’s removal within 24 hours. Subodh Kumud, Gujarat state convenor of Rashtriya Dalit Adhikar Manch, questioned the ADGP for asking Jignesh to keep the phone away, “What is he doing in the chamber that he is scared of being recorded? If he is behaving this way with an elected representative, imagine what he would do to common Dalits,” he was quoted as saying in The Indian Express.