Last night, a 50-year-old policeman died in the Surendranagar district of Gujarat in western India when he attempted to stop an SUV allegedly involved in this business in the small hours of Tuesday.
The incident occurred around 2:30 AM on Dasada-Patdi state highway 25 in Kathada village. The officer of the SMC was Sub-Inspector JM Pathan, who was part of this specialized group of Gujarat police, which was in charge of enforcing the laws of the Gujarat Prohibition Act and the Prevention of Gambling Act. On receipt of information about the probable use of the SUV in ferrying banned liquor, Pathan planned a checkpoint to intercept the car.
But when the SUV got to the checkpoint, the driver was able to circumvent the barrier by swerving, dragging along a trailer. In a police case number that was reported, the headlights of the SUV flooded Pathan’s field of vision, which led to him and his car losing balance. He then proceeded and impacted with the back of the trailer.
From the crash, Pathan has profound head injuries. The man was first taken to a checkpoint facility, a primary health clinic in Dasada, and then evacuated to a government mausoleum in Viramgram. Unfortunately, he died from the injuries, though he was rushed to the hospital.
Like other members of the SMC actively involved in implementing the Gujarat Prohibition Act (which was amended in 2017) to prohibit the sale and transportation of alcohol within the state, the case has exposed the extremist environment that those enforcing the law. Being a special division, the SMC constantly monitors vehicle movement and stops those it believes may be ferrying prohibited items, such as banned alcohol.
The death of Pathan has shown that such operations involving police officers are risky because the officers always deal with reckless chases and uncertain conditions. The local police are now working to probe into the incident and look for the driver of the SUV, who is accused of killing the two.
Join our whatsapp group for Latest updates