A 35-year-old man arrested by Parbhani police in connection the violence that took place on December 10 died in judicial custody at the Parbhani district prison on Sunday.
The deceased Somnath Suryavanshi, a labourer who was pursuing law, was picked up as part of the 50 persons arrested by the Parbhani police after an incident of violence following alleged vandalising of a replica of the Indian Constitution outside the Parbhani railway station.
On December 10, the replica of the Constitution was allegedly vandalised by one Sopan Pawar following which there were protests and stone pelting the next day. The Parbhani police registered FIRs and arrested 50 people, including Suryavanshi.
Suryavanshi, who belonged to the Wadar community — a nomadic tribe, was arrested on December 12 and sent to judicial custody on December 14. Police said that he was moved to a local hospital after he complained of chest pain.
His death sparked outrage, with activists and family members raising serious concerns, demanding a thorough investigation, citing Suryawanshi had sought medical help.
Prakash Ambedkar of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (BVA) tweeted, “The custodial death of Somnath Suryawanshi — a Bhim Sainik belonging to the Wadar community — in Parbhani is gut wrenching, sickening and intolerable to say the least. What is more intolerable that his death happened in judicial custody despite his bail application being approved!”
The tweet added, “ Since his death happened in judicial custody, our lawyers will be urging the Court that the postmortem (CT scan, MRI, forensic and pathological) examination takes place in a government hospital which has a forensic department, and that the postmortem is filmed and undertaken by both the forensic and pathology department. We will FIGHT FOR JUSTICE!”
Local activists also alleged that the police had manhandled a woman identified as Vachala Manavate who worked in a hospital nearby. The incident was captured on CCTV, they said, even as police denied the claims.
There were also allegations that the police had carried out combing operations in Dalit localities soon after the violence. A senior officer said that as per law, the allegations will be probed and action will be taken if anyone is found guilty.
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