Ahmedabad: A father’s place may be behind bars, but a minor son’s ambition to hit the bull’s-eye has earned him a week outside jail. Gujarat High Court has granted temporary bail to a suspended police inspector facing charges in a custodial death case so that he can help his son participate in a state-level rifle shooting competition.Dharmendrasinh Gohil, then police inspector at Fatehganj police station in Vadodara, was among eight cops booked in 2020 over the disappearance of Shaikh Babu Nishar, a bedsheet seller from Telangana who was detained by police in Dec 2019 and never seen again. Following a petition by Nishar’s son seeking an investigation, an FIR was registered against the policemen for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence. Gohil has been in jail since.Seeking 30 days of temporary bail, Gohil submitted that his minor son had secured first position in a district-level rifle shooting competition and was keen to compete at the state level. The championship is scheduled to be held in Jamnagar on Nov 17 and 18.His lawyer told the court that Gohil’s presence was necessary to make arrangements for the event, including fetching the shooting kit, hiring a rifle and obtaining the required school certificate.Justice M C Tyagi granted Gohil temporary bail on Wednesday for a week, from Nov 14 to 20, on a personal bond of Rs 5,000 and subject to usual conditions. Regarding surrender, HC said, “The applicant shall surrender before the concerned jail authority on expiry of the temporary bail period i.e. on 20.11.2026.”
