Viral video: Murder accused drinks beer in police van in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: A video showing a man accused of murder swigging beer inside a police van went viral on Friday.

Police had arrested the man, Joravarsinh Jhala, 22, a resident of Katosan village in Jotana taluka of Mehsana, on May 25, over the charge of killing a 75-year-old man at Odhav village in Ahmedabad district on May 16.




In the video that went viral on Friday, Jhala is seen lounging in the police van, drinking beer, and kissing the can. He is seen holding up two cans for the camera. The video was posted on his Instagram account on June 19, with the location tag showing "Sabarmati riverfront". TOI could not independently verify the veracity of the video.

After the video spread all over the social media, Gujarat police and Ahmedabad city police drew a lot of flak, as Gujarat is a dry state with strict prohibition laws in place. Social media users questioned the police over their laxity and the govt over its prohibition policy.

Himanshu Verma, DCP of Zone 1, said they are inquiring into the matter, but denied the video was shot on the Sabarmati riverfront. "Although the video shows the location as Sabarmati riverfront, we are yet to establish the exact location. I refuse to believe the video was even shot in Ahmedabad city," Verma said.

He said Jhala has been in jail since May 25, after Detroj police arrested him, implying that no such incident occurred while the murder suspect was in police custody. But video was posted on June 19.

Furthermore, a series of videos on Jhala's Instagram page show him in the custody of Ahmedabad rural police. Jhala also shared news of his arrest on Instagram, attesting to the fact that he had full access to his mobile phone even while he was in police custody.

The murder case pertains to one Saurav Patel, contracting Jhala to break the legs of Shambhu Patel, a grocer at Odhav village, but the victim succumbed to his injuries on May 19, police said.


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