Parbhani violence: Somnath Suryawanshi’s family moves Bombay HC seeking court-monitored probe

Mumbai: In a significant development, the family of law student Somnath Suryawanshi, who died in judicial custody following his arrest after the violence in Parbhani, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking an independent court-monitored probe into the incident.

Somnath’s mother Vijayabai Suryawanshi has moved the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court.

The writ petition – filed through advocates Prakash Ambedkar, Sandesh More and Hitendra Gandhi – seeks the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against the responsible police officers.

“Preparing for the hearing of Vijaybai Vyankat Suryawanshi vs State of Maharashtra & Ors. The hearing is scheduled for April 8 in Aurangabad Bench, Bombay High Court,” Ambedkar posted on X.

Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution had taken up the case on behalf of the family.

A law student, Suryavanshi (35), who hailed from the Wadar community, died at a state-run hospital in Parbhani on 15 December, 2024 while in judicial custody, days after he was arrested in connection with violence Parbhani post the incident of desecration of a replica of Constitution of India placed in a glass box alongside the statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

Right-wing groups held a meeting near the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Parbhani on 10 December, 2024, to protest against alleged atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh after which the desecration took place.

However, later massive protests broke out in Parbhani on 11 December after which several people were arrested including Somnath (35), who was visiting Parbhani to appear for his final-year law examination.

He was allegedly assaulted at the Nava Monda police station during police custody, however, later was sent to judicial custody, where his condition deteriorated and sent to hospital, where he died.

It may be mentioned, last month a magisterial inquiry concluded that the police were responsible for the death, according to a report submitted to the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC).

The death of Suryawanshi snowballed into a major political issue with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar visiting his family in Parbhani even as the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi-INDIA opposition bloc has targeted the Devendra Fadnavis-led MahaYuti-NDA dispensation.