Maharashtra: Man arrested during violence in Parbhani dies in judicial custody

Mumbai: In a shocking incident, a 35-year-old man who was arrested during the violence that took place in Parbhani last week, has died in judicial custody on Sunday.

The deceased was identified as Somnath Veyankat Suryawanshi, who used to work as a labourer in Pune district. Suryawanshi was in Parbhani to meet his family members when he was rounded up.

Suryawanshi hailed from the Wadar community.

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi founder Prakash Ambedkar and his brother and Republican Sena founder Anandraj Ambedkar have raised the issue and threatened protests.

“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,” Prakash Ambedkar said.

“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,” added Prakash Ambedkar.

“Many Ambedkarite people were arrested after the Parbhani accident. It is a shocking incident for Bhim Sainik. There should be immediate action against the concerned police personnel,” added Anandraj Ambedkar.

Large-scale violence, arson, stone-pelting, vandalisation of public and private property was reported from the Parbhani town of Marathwada region of Maharashtra during a bandh called on Wednesday to protest the vandalism of replica of Constitution placed in a glass box near a statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Suryawanshi suffered chest pain in the Parbhani district jail, from where he was shifted to the civil hospital, where he died.

The Ambedkar brothers have demanded that the offences registered against the protestors must be withdrawn.

NCP (SP) leader and former minister, in a post on X, said: "Somnath Suryavanshi, a young Ambedkarite activist from Parbhani, has been killed by the police system. The fact that this young law student dies while in judicial custody is even more serious. Whether he died or was he killed will be understood after the postmortem...but as a society, the same question arises before us again and again. How many more Somnaths are going to lose their lives like this..?"