Fearless Gujarat cop confronts health minister's son on camera; punished then transferred

The son of a Gujarat minister and his two friends were arrested on Sunday for allegedly violating the lockdown and the night curfew orders in Surat. The arrests came a day after audio clips of a heated exchange of Prakash Kanani, son of Varachha Road MLA and Minister of State for Health Kumar Kanani, and his friends with woman constable Sunita Yadav, who tried to stop them, surfaced on social media.

'What if you are a minister?'

Congress National Convener Saral Patel shared the video on Twitter in which the woman constable can be seen having a conversation with Gujarat MLA Kanani. She asked him in Gujarati, "So what if you are a minister, do the rules don't apply to you ?". She also asked, "You are Health Minister, your kin should be wearing a mask and following rules more stringently." The state Health Minister can be heard saying to Yadav that the police can take action if they want to.

Saral Patel claimed that after the incident, the officer was pulled up by her senior at the behest of the Minister and she resigned. "We need more such people in our Police force," he said.

'Make you stand at the same place for 365 days'

Prakash Kanani and two of his friends were arrested under IPC Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269, 270 (negligent and malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), and 144 (abettor present when offence committed), Assistant Commissioner of Police, A-Division, C K Patel said.

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They were later released on bail, he added. Surat Commissioner of Police R B Brahmbhatt on Saturday ordered an inquiry into the incident after the constable alleged that she was threatened by some men when she stopped them during the night curfew. Yadav stopped Prakash Kanani's friends around 10.30 pm on Wednesday during night curfew for allegedly violating the lockdown orders in force to contain the spread of Coronavirus.

According to PTI, in few of the other audio clips, the men are heard telling the constable that they had the power to "make you stand at the same place for 365 days". The constable shouts back that she is not their slave or a servant of their fathers that they can make her stand there for 365 days. Meanwhile, CK Patel said Yadav has gone on sick leave and an inquiry is underway into the incident.

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(With PTI inputs)