35-year-old law student and Ambedkarite activist, Somnath Vyankat Suryawanshi, who was arrested by Maharashtra police in connection with the Parbhani protest, died due to “shock following multiple injuries,” says the forensic department in Aurangabad.
Suryawanshi, who was among over 50 other Ambedkarite youths arrested for their alleged role in the protest carried out a day after a miscreant desecrated a replica of the Constitution in Parbhani, died on December 15.
He had spent three days in police custody before being sent to jail on December 14.
A day later, Suryawanshi reportedly developed “chest pain” and was moved to the government hospital, where he was declared dead, according to the police.
Suryawanshi, who belonged to the nomadic tribe Wadar, had been doing odd jobs to support his studies. His brother and mother worked as labourers in Chakan, Pune, according to The Wire report. He was also a local activist of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) party.
Meanwhile, Suryawanshi’s lawyer, Pawan Jondhale, said that he had argued before the magistrate’s court that police atrocities had occurred and that most of those arrested had suffered both internal and external injuries. The magistrate made only a cursory inquiry, The Wire reported. Those arrested were unable to speak due to the heavy police presence inside the court, he said.
“Police said that Somnath died of a heart attack. It’s wrong. The post-mortem says that he had multiple injuries in custody and he died as a result of that. We will ensure justice for Somnath Suryawanshi,” said VBA chief and veteran Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar.
Local activists also alleged that the police are unleashing brutal violence against Ambedkarites in the region.
In one instance, Prakash Ambedkar said, a mother of a newborn was brutally assaulted by the police in her house. “She had locked herself in her bathroom to save herself from the violence of the police, but the police broke her door down and brutally beat her,” he said.
