Gujarat has witnessed a sharp rise in police firing incidents over the past 15 months, with official records showing that police opened fire in 18 separate cases between May 2025 and July 2026. While only two of these incidents ended in the death of the accused, the remaining 16 resulted in injuries, mostly gunshot wounds to the legs.
The issue has once again come into focus after the death of a rape and murder accused in Anand, who was shot during police investigation after allegedly attacking officers with a knife.
Anand Case Brings Police Use of Firearms Under Spotlight
The latest incident involved Suresh Parmar, who was accused of raping and murdering a four-year-old girl in Anand district. According to police, Parmar attacked officers with a knife while he was being taken for investigation. The officers then opened fire in self-defence.
Police officials said Parmar was being escorted when he suddenly pulled out a knife and attacked constables Rajveersinh Chauhan and Mahipalsinh Rathod. PSI J. Rana first fired a warning shot and asked him to surrender. However, when Parmar allegedly continued attacking the police, Rana fired six more rounds in self-defence.
Out of the seven bullets fired, three struck Parmar in the chest, one hit his waist and another hit his leg. He was rushed to Shree Krishna Hospital in Karamsad, where doctors declared him dead.
Investigators later confirmed that the young girl had been abducted from Vasad railway station platform around 9.15 pm on Saturday. Her mutilated body was found on the railway tracks the following day. Anand Superintendent of Police Gaurav Jasani said the investigation established that the child had died due to sexual assault. Police tracked Parmar using CCTV footage, which allegedly showed him carrying away the child from the railway station. He was arrested within hours by teams from the Borsad Rural Police, Railway Police, Local Crime Branch, Special Operations Group and Vasad Police.
Most Cases Linked to Crime Scene Investigations
Official records show that police firing incidents have largely taken place during investigations rather than routine law enforcement.
A closer look at the data reveals that December 2025 alone recorded six police firing cases, making it the month with the highest number of such incidents. Most of the shootings occurred during:
Crime scene reconstruction
Recovery of weapons or evidence
Arrest operations
Attempts to stop suspects from escaping police custody
Three incidents were linked to the State Monitoring Cell, while two others took place during crowd-control situations instead of criminal investigations.
Police Say Firearms Were Used Only as a Last Resort
Despite the increase in firing cases, police have maintained that every incident followed a similar pattern.
According to the official version, firearms were used only after the accused allegedly posed an immediate threat by attacking officers with knives or firearms, trying to snatch police service weapons, or attempting to escape during lawful custody. In almost every case, police claimed the accused resisted arrest or attacked officers before shots were fired.
Timeline of Police Firing Cases
The official chronology of police firing incidents includes several cases across Gujarat.
2025
May 7 (Devbhumi Dwarka): Police fired at a mob after it allegedly pelted stones during a religious procession.
May 8 (Surat Rural): Police fired at Subham Thakur after he allegedly attacked officers with a concealed pistol during a weapon recovery operation.
May 11 (Surat City): Murder accused Rahul Kumar Jogi was shot after allegedly attacking police while trying to evade arrest.
May 19 (Rajkot): Police fired to disperse members of the Devipujak community after officers allegedly came under attack while intervening in an unlawful animal sacrifice.
June 25 (Ahmedabad): Crime Branch officers opened fire on murder accused Dharmendrasinh Barad after he allegedly attacked police while attempting to flee.
August 17 (Valsad): Murder accused Asfaq Sheikh was shot after allegedly attacking police with a knife during an arrest attempt.
September 12 (Ahmedabad): Extortion accused Sangramsinh Sikarwar was shot after allegedly trying to snatch a police revolver.
September 24 (Gandhinagar): Rape and murder accused Vipul Parmar was killed after allegedly snatching a police service revolver and opening fire on officers during crime scene reconstruction.
November 6 (Navsari): History-sheeter Salman Mirza, wanted in 15 cases, was shot after allegedly attacking police during an arrest operation.
December 8 (Ahmedabad): Police fired during an altercation with Moinuddin Badshah while producing him before a court.
December 10 (Rajkot Rural): Rape accused Ramsingh Sakadiya was shot after allegedly attacking police with a sharp weapon.
December 16 (Surat): Double murder accused Shivkant Yadav was shot after allegedly attacking police with stones while attempting to escape.
December 20 (Gandhinagar): Rape accused Ramanit Yadav was shot after allegedly trying to flee during crime scene reconstruction.
December 30 (Dahod): Liquor case accused Ashok Panwar was shot after allegedly attacking police during an attempt to evade arrest.
December 30 (Surendranagar): Divyarajsinh Borana was shot after allegedly attacking police with a knife during a panchnama.
2026
March 13 (Aravalli): A State Monitoring Cell team fired at Sukhlal Jate after he allegedly attacked officers while being brought from Rajasthan.
July 20 (Anand): Rape and murder accused Suresh Parmar was killed after allegedly attacking police with a knife during investigation.
Debate Over Police Encounters Continues
The rising number of police firing cases has once again sparked debate over the use of firearms during investigations and arrests. While police continue to defend the shootings as necessary acts of self-defence and claim force was used only when officers faced immediate danger, the increasing frequency of such incidents has brought Gujarat’s policing methods under renewed public scrutiny.
With 18 police firing cases recorded in just over a year, questions over the circumstances of these incidents and the balance between effective policing and the use of force are likely to remain in focus.
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