Surat, March 18 (NationPress) Eleven notorious individuals have been apprehended under the Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act (PASA), as confirmed by Surat Police on Tuesday.

A number of the suspects were captured during a thorough combing operation conducted in the Udhna, Bhestan, and Padesara regions.

One of the individuals detained is Gabru Bharwad, a habitual offender with a record of severe crimes, including murder and extortion. He was previously associated with an assault on a mobile shop proprietor in Sachin.

While two of his accomplices were taken into custody, Gabru initially managed to flee. His evasion ended when Surat Police, with support from their counterparts in Rajasthan, successfully tracked him down and arrested him.

Another significant suspect, Ramesh Jangid, has also been charged under PASA as authorities persist in their efforts to dismantle criminal networks within the city.

Post his arrest, Gabru and his associates underwent a reconstruction of their crimes, during which they were observed expressing regret to the public.

The Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 1985 (PASA) is a legal instrument designed to mitigate activities that threaten public order in the state.

This legislation permits the preventive detention of individuals identified as bootleggers, dangerous persons, drug offenders, immoral traffic offenders, and property grabbers.

The Act's objective is to proactively tackle threats to community peace by detaining such individuals for a maximum of one year.

Over the years, PASA has served as a crucial instrument for law enforcement in Gujarat.

For example, from 2019 to 2023, more than 2,800 individuals were detained under PASA for various offenses, including sexual harassment, cybercrime, gambling, and unlawful moneylending. The yearly distribution is as follows: 417 detentions in 2019, 526 in 2020, 640 in 2021, 560 in 2022, and 709 in 2023.

Significantly, during this timeframe, 74 individuals were detained for sexual harassment, and 15 for cybercrime offenses.

In Ahmedabad, from November 2018 to October 2020, 2,897 PASA cases were recorded.

Among these, around 1,065 involved individuals with only a single prior complaint. Specifically, 574 individuals with one previous complaint were detained under PASA in 2018-19, and 491 in 2019-20.

Nonetheless, the enforcement of PASA has been subject to judicial review. Between 2019 and 2021, the Gujarat High Court annulled 3,447 out of 5,402 PASA detention orders, raising concerns about potential misuse or overreach in its application.