A 58-year-old Dalit woman in Ahmedabad’s Nava Vadaj area has alleged that a dispute over sitting on a public bench escalated into caste-based verbal abuse and physical assault by a woman doctor and her family.
The victim, Dadam Vaghela, who lives at Samarth Complex near National Handloom with her son Anil (30) and daughter-in-law Pooja (27), lodged a complaint with the Vadaj police. She said the incident began around 7:30 pm on June 14, when her son Anil was sitting on a roadside bench opposite their flat.
According to the complaint, a woman doctor who runs a clinic beneath their residence told Anil that he could not sit there. Pooja questioned the claim, and an argument broke out. Hearing the commotion, Dadam rushed downstairs. She alleged that the doctor tried to raise her hand on Pooja, prompting them to call the police control room. A police van briefly arrived and dispersed the crowd.
However, Dadam said the situation escalated again shortly afterward when she and her brother were standing nearby. She alleged that the doctor, along with her husband, son, and daughter-in-law, approached them, hurled caste-based slurs, and verbally abused them.
When Dadam’s brother tried to record the incident on his phone, the doctor’s daughter-in-law allegedly snatched it. As Dadam tried to retrieve the phone, the doctor’s son reportedly struck her on the head, and the whole family assaulted her.
Police were again informed by a bystander. Due to her medical condition, Dadam was unable to file a complaint that night. She later submitted a written complaint, naming her brother and other family members as witnesses.
Vadaj police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for causing hurt, criminal intimidation, and using abusive words, along with charges under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the doctor, her husband, son, and daughter-in-law.
