Parbhani custodial death: District police say deceased’s heart had three blockages

The final post-mortem report has not been submitted to either of the authorities so far, a district police officer said

Mumbai: While a judicial magistrate’s probe into the December 2024 death of law student Somnath Suryavanshi in Parbhani in December while in police custody has concluded that it was due to physical abuse, a police officer from the district claimed on Friday that a histopathology test indicated there were three blockages in the 35-year-old’s heart, which might have caused his death.

Parbhani, India. 16, 2024: A 35-year-old man named Somnath Suryawanshi died in Parbhani district jail on December 15, 2024. Suryawanshi was detained alongside 50 other Dalit youths for their alleged involvement in the violence that broke out in the city following the desecration of a replica of the Constitution on December 10, 2024. Parbhani, India. Dec 16, 2024. (Photo by HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

A judicial magistrate from Parbhani and Maharashtra’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had both begun probing Suryavanshi’s alleged custodial death based on his family’s allegations and the findings of the interim post-mortem report, which suggested he had died due to “shock following multiple injuries”. However, the final post-mortem report has not been submitted to either of the authorities so far, a district police officer said, on condition of anonymity.

With Maharashtra’s abysmal record when it comes to custodial deaths again coming to the fore, the Opposition attacked the state government on Friday for providing “misleading information” on Suryavanshi’s death and demanded the dismissal of the police officers responsible for it. The state government said it would take a legal opinion on the notice issued to it on March 20 by the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) seeking its response to the judicial magistrate’s report.

The notice issued to the state government read, “Perusal of the report…shows that the judicial magistrate has concluded that Suryawanshi was assaulted at Police Station Nava Mondha in Parbhani.” The MSHRC will hear the matter on June 23.

According to a National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, Maharashtra recorded the second-highest number of custodial deaths in the country between April 1, 2018, and March 31, 2023. As many as 687 people died in police custody across the country in this five-year period, out of which 81 were in Gujarat and 80 in Maharashtra.

‘Hope FIR will be filed’

Suryavanshi’s younger brother, Premnath, wants a murder case to be registered against the police officers who allegedly assaulted and killed his brother. “Three months after the death of my elder brother, the CID has not submitted its findings, and there is no FIR against the police officers. I hope an FIR will be registered against the police officers after the magistrate’s probe report is submitted,” he told HT on Friday, after visiting the MSHRC office in Mumbai to collect the judicial magistrate’s report.

However, a senior police officer in Parbhani said that the final post-mortem report has not been concluded and submitted to the judicial magistrate and the state CID. “Both agencies did not demand a report from the concerned agencies. The histopathology report suggested that Somnath was suffering from heart blockage in three arteries—70% each in two arteries and 80% in the third one.”

The officer added that the final forensic report has also not been submitted yet. “The final post-mortem report is always prepared by the forensic medicine and toxicology department of the Government Medical College and Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. It will be issued after a forensic science laboratory completes its histopathological examination.”

Somnath Suryavanshi was among over 50 people who were arrested after violence erupted in Parbhani following the vandalism of a Constitution replica on December 10. He was lodged in the Parbhani district prison, along with several other accused, and died in judicial custody on December 15 due to “shock following multiple injuries”, according to the interim post-mortem report. The prison department had said Suryavanshi complained of chest pain around 6.50 am on December 15. Suryavanshi, who resided in Pune, had gone to his hometown for a law exam, Premnath had said, adding that his brother had nothing to do with the protests or the subsequent violence.

After Suryavanshi’s death escalated into a major political controversy, chief minister Devendra Fadanavis on December 20 announced that a judicial probe would be conducted into the incident. Fadnavis, however, said that Suryavanshi had a respiratory problem and old scars on his body. “He himself had told the court during his hearing that police did not use any aggressive force or third-degree [torture] on him,” Fadnavis, who also holds the home portfolio, had said, adding that the post-mortem report did not establish physical abuse by the police.

Oppn attacks CM

Now, with the judicial magistrate’s report saying that Suryavanshi was indeed physically abused at the police station, the Opposition once again trained its guns on the state government. “Fadnavis has completely failed as home minister to handle the case,” said Maharashtra Congress chief Harshavardhan Sapkal. “He misled the state legislature and said that Suryawanshi died of a pre-existing illness.”

Congress leader Nitin Raut added, “Shielding the police officers is a wrong precedent, and the government cannot shrug off its responsibility. The government should conduct an inquiry against the police officers responsible and suspend them.”

Minister of state for home, Yogesh Kadam, said that the government would take a call on the MSHRC notice once they receive it. “The post-mortem report and the forensic laboratory report have clearly stated that the death was not due to the physical abuse. We will have to check what the [magistrate’s] report says.”

An official from the state home department said, “This is a magisterial inquiry conducted in every custodial death, and the MSHRC notice was based on it. A judicial inquiry committee, under retired judge VL Achaliya, has been probing the case, including the death of the protester. It is expected to submit its report next month.”