Jailed cop in Vadodara custodial death case granted bail to arrange rifle, shooting kit for son’s contest

A Police inspector accused in one of Vadodara’s high-profile Fatehgunj custodial death cases in 2019, involving a 65-year-old migrant from Telangana, has been granted temporary bail for an unusual reason — to arrange a shooting kit, a rented rifle and a school certificate for his son’s state-level competition.

The Gujarat High Court (HC) granted temporary bail for seven days to jailed Police Inspector D B Gohil, from November 14 to 20, to facilitate his minor son’s participation in a state-level rifle shooting competition scheduled in Jamnagar on November 17 and 18.

Justice Mool Chand Tyagi issued the order on November 12 after Gohil’s counsel, H Y Kothari, submitted that his son earlier secured first position in a district-level rifle shooting competition and was keen on participating in the state-level event. Participants were required to report at the venue on November 16, as per the submissions made by Gohil.
Gohil’s counsel told the court that his presence was “genuinely required” to make the necessary arrangements for his son’s participation, including procuring a shooting kit, arranging a rifle on rent and obtaining the requisite school certificate, besides completing other formalities.

Gohil had sought temporary bail for 30 days. However, the court granted bail for seven days. The order states, “Taking into consideration the grounds urged in this application, the applicant is ordered to be released on temporary bail for a period from 14.11.2026 to 20.11.2026.” He has been directed to furnish a personal bond of Rs 5,000 and surrender before the jail authority concerned on November 20, upon expiry of the temporary bail period.
This is the second occasion in four months that Gohil has secured temporary bail from the HC. On July 10, the court  partly allowed his application after considering that he was required to appear for examinations at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University in Ahmedabad on July 12 and 13. He was granted temporary release for three days, with a direction to surrender immediately after the period expired.

The case against Gohil relates to the alleged custodial death of Shaikh Babu Nisar, a 65-year-old daily wage worker from Telangana, who was allegedly picked up by personnel of the Fatehgunj police station on December 10, 2019, on suspicion of theft. He never returned home.

The case came to wider attention after Nisar’s son, Salim, approached the HC through a habeas corpus petition. Following the court’s directions, an FIR was registered in July 2020, invoking offences including murder and destruction of evidence.

The FIR, which relied substantially on the statement of an assistant head constable who allegedly witnessed the interrogation, claimed that Nisar was tied to a chair inside the police station and subjected to torture during questioning. The witness alleged that Nisar bled during the interrogation before becoming unresponsive.

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The Gujarat CID took over the investigation in August 2020 following directions from the HC. Investigators subsequently traced the mobile phone locations of several accused officers to a canal near Vadodara’s Gorwa area, suspecting that Nisar’s body may have been disposed of there. Despite extensive searches, including draining off the Narmada canal of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL), Nisar’s body has not been recovered.

In November 2020, the CID filed a 900-page chargesheet against eight police personnel, including Gohil, who was then the Fatehgunj police inspector, sub-inspector D M Rabari, four Lok Rakshak Dal jawans, former sub-inspector Dilipsinh Rathod and assistant head constable Mahesh Rathwa. Six of the accused remain in judicial custody.

The prosecution has also been embroiled in disputes over the appointment of the special public prosecutor. In 2023, Nisar’s son approached the authorities and eventually the Gujarat HC seeking the removal of then-special public prosecutor Ravi Shukla, alleging that local prosecutors familiar with police personnel could not ensure a fair trial. The family also sought the appointment of advocate S I Ghariya, who had earlier been appointed in 2021 but was subsequently removed from the case.

Ghariya’s appointment came under another cloud in June 2026, when the state government discontinued his services as Special Public Prosecutor. Salim again approached the Gujarat High Court, challenging the decision. During the hearing in July, the Home Department placed on record a notification dated July 31, stating that Ghariya had been reappointed as Special Public Prosecutor to conduct the Fatehgunj police station custodial death case pending in Vadodara. The High Court consequently disposed of the matter as withdrawn.

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Ghariya has since resumed conducting the trial and has opposed several temporary bail applications filed by the accused policemen, some of which have been rejected by  local courts.