Dalit youth's custodial death: Parbhani marks peaceful shutdown amid tight security

Parbhani (Maharashtra), Dec 16 (IANS) Many areas of Parbhani town and district observed a peaceful shutdown (bandh) on Monday after the alleged accused in last week’s violence -- after a statue of Dr B. R. Ambedkar was desecrated -- died under mysterious circumstances in judicial custody (JC) on Sunday, December 15.

The state-level bandh call was given by Republican Sena President Anandraj Y. Ambedkar, while his elder brother and Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) President Prakash Y. Ambedkar and other Dalit parties/groups including Republican Party of India (A) President and Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, Republican Party of India (K), supporting. Communist Party of India (M) leaders Ashok Dhawale and Uday Narkar have also extended support to the bandh call.

Rattled by last night’s development -- on the eve of the Maharashtra Legislature Session starting in Nagpur on Monday -- the Parbhani police said that accused-arrested Somnath Vyankat Suryavanshi, was admitted to a hospital following chest pains. However, the deceased man’s supporters and Dalit parties have pointed accusing fingers at the law enforcers claiming he succumbed to severe thrashing by the police after his arrest on December 11.

As soon as news of the death of labourer-cum-law student Suryavanshi, 35, spread, the police deployed tight security at various sensitive locations, even as the Republican Sena late on Sunday announced a peaceful sit-in protest outside Parbhani Collectorate plus a bandh on Monday.

Late last night, Prakash Y. Ambedkar demanded a proper post-mortem of the deceased in a government hospital with fully equipped departments like forensics, CT-MRI scans, pathology, etc., and the entire exercise should be video-graphed. The VBA chief on Monday said that the demand has been accepted and the autopsy report is likely to be available, and he reached Parbhani, to assess the situation, with a motto of ‘we will fight for justice’.

“The custodial death of Somnath Suryavanshi -- a Bhim Sainik belonging to the Wadar community -- in Parbhani is gut-wrenching, sickening and intolerable to say the least. What is more deplorable is that his death happened in JC despite his bail application being approved,” said a grim Prakash Ambedkar.

On December 10, an unidentified person vandalized a copy of the Constitution in the hands of Dr Ambedkar’s statue outside Parbhani Railway Station, sparking tensions that degenerated into massive violence for the next couple of days. Subsequently, the perpetrator of the act was identified as one ‘disturbed’ person named Sopan Pawar.

Later, the Parbhani Police swooped down and booked or arrested around 300 locals, mostly Dalits including Suryavanshi, who was nabbed on December 12 and died in JC barely in 72 hours.

Taking umbrage at the incident, Union Minister Athawale urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to order a thorough probe into the custodial death, dismissal of the concerned police officials, a compensation of Rs 25 lakh for Suryavanshi’s family, and withdrawal of police cases filed against all the accused in last week’s violence, and sparing those people who were not involved in the mayhem.

RPI(K) President Sachin Kharat urged the masses in Parbhani to observe a peaceful shutdown, where the situation is being personally monitored by ICP (Nanded Range) Shahaji Umap and other top police officials.