Chargesheet yet to be filed in Rajkot 'Tiger balm' case

Eight months ago, Rajkot's then deputy commissioner of police K L N Rao and nine police constables allegedly applied 'Tiger balm' -- a specific generally used to allieviate (head)aches and sundry other pains -- to the eyes of seven undertrial prisoners as part of their 'interrogation'.

All seven suffered permanent damage to their sight.

Eight months later, the eyes of investigating and government officials also appear to be feeling the result -- thus far, there has been no chargesheet prepared, no compensation paid to the victims.

The investigating official attached to the local branch of the CID said that forensic testing has confirmed the use of balm on the eyes of the prisoners.

However, this is India - land of red tape, ditto herrings. Thus, word is that there is many a wayside stop between crime, and punishment.

The government pleader's opinion must first be obtained.

The case must then be referred to special IGP Gurudayal Singh (CID crime).

Opinion from the legal cell of the state department will then be obtained.

None of this has happened till date.

and opinion of the legal department of the state government will be sought if needed, he added.

The story broke when Shankarprasad Guruprasada Bihari was admitted, on January 7, to the G T Sheth Eye Hospital in Rajkot with severe burning, infection and loss of eyesight. The victim, arrested by the Rajkot police for possession of narcotic substances, complained to hospital superintendent Dr Rekha Gosalia that balm was applied to his eyes by police officials.

Shankarprasad was discharged on March 29, with a permanent eye defect diagnosed as 'central corneal opacity'.

He returned for further treatment, complaining of acute pain, on June 26. However, in the interim, doctors at the hospital smelt something amiss when a few more patients trickled in with similar problems. They alerted the authorities, which in turn led to the appointment of a fact-finding committee headed by then Rajkot district collector Guruprasad Mohapatra and comprising among others sub-divisional magistrate Kalpana Mehta, civil surgeon Dr Sunil Avashia and eye surgeon Dr Rekha Gosalia.

After investigation, the committee submitted its report to the state government on February 16. Among other things, it was recommended that compensation be paid to the victims depending on the intensity of damage - thus, a sum of Rs Rs 30,000 to Shankarprasad and Rs 25,000 to Jivan Mashru Bharwad, who suffer from partial impairment of vision in both eyes, was recommended.

Chhotu Popat Patil and Mangaldas Bahudas Bawaji were recommended smaller amounts by way of compensation, as in the opinion of the committee they had suffered much less damage. The remaining three, Vinod Natha, Yusuf Gani Mir and Gaffar Sidi Sandhi, have meanwhile recovered completely from their ordeal.

Barring Shankarprasad, the other six have been released from police custody. Yet, none of them have received any compensation whatsoever, although Gujarat chief minister Shankarsingh Vaghela had publicly announced way back in February that compensation would be provided at the earliest.

Even more interestingly, all nine constables involved in the incident -- Mehul Chavda, Shantubha Dhiruba, Velubha Parmar, Dinesh Ravji, Ramesh Danji, Vallabh Patel, Jilu Jagshi, Mgan Bechar and Praduman Popat -- who were suspended on February 13 for being party to the incident, have been reinstated with effect from July 3.

The reason?

No cases have been filed against them - so why should they be suspended?

Makes you wonder if some of that balm found its way into the eyes of the government. The police authorities. And officialdom in general.