Jailed Cop in Vadodara Custodial Death Case Granted Bail for Son's Shooting Contest

The Gujarat High Court has granted a week of temporary bail to suspended police inspector Dharmendrasinh Gohil, an accused in the 2019 Vadodara custodial death case, allowing him to help his minor son prepare for a state-level rifle shooting championship. Justice M.C. Tyagi passed the order after Gohil approached the court seeking short-term release to complete necessary administrative and logistical arrangements for the upcoming competition in Jamnagar.

Gohil's defense counsel submitted before the bench that the officer's minor son had secured first place in a district-level shooting tournament and successfully qualified for the state championship. The defense argued that the young competitor required his father's physical presence to arrange essential documentation, including securing a school certificate, hiring a competition-grade rifle, and retrieving the necessary shooting kit.

Granting the temporary relief, the High Court directed Gohil to execute a personal bond of five thousand rupees to secure his release from prison. The court ordered him to surrender promptly back to jail authorities upon the expiration of the seven-day period, imposing strict conditions to ensure compliance during his brief release.

Gohil has been incarcerated over his alleged role in the December 2019 custodial death of Shaikh Babu Nishar, a sixty-five-year-old resident of Telangana who visited Gujarat to sell bedsheets. Nishar was picked up by Vadodara police from the Fatehganj area on suspicion of theft and brought to the local police station for questioning, where he subsequently disappeared while in police custody.

According to the investigation, Nishar was allegedly subjected to severe physical torture inside the Fatehganj police station, which resulted in his death while under police detention. Investigators alleged that police personnel stationed at the post fabricated station diary entries claiming Nishar was released, while covertly disposing of his body and destroying physical evidence to hide the crime.

The custodial death sparked widespread outrage and prompted Nishar's son to launch a determined legal battle to uncover the truth about his father's whereabouts. Following a habeas corpus petition filed in the Gujarat High Court, the court intervened and directed an investigation, leading to the registration of a formal murder case and the transfer of the probe to the state Crime Investigation Department.

Subsequent inquiries resulted in the arrest of several police officials attached to the Fatehganj police station, including Gohil, who was the police inspector in charge at the time. The accused officers were suspended from their posts and charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including murder and causing the disappearance of evidence.

The Vadodara custodial death case remains one of the most closely watched human rights and police accountability proceedings in Gujarat in recent years. Legal observers have underscored the case as a stark illustration of the judicial scrutiny faced by law enforcement officers accused of severe custodial violence and evidence tampering.

With the temporary bail period set for one week, Gohil is expected to return to judicial custody as the trial proceedings in the custodial death case move forward. State authorities and the victim's family continue to pursue judicial accountability in court, where the trial against the implicated officers remains pending.