Police face heat after man dies during Ganpati immersion procession

The death of man during Ganpati immersion procession in Ahilyanagar has triggered a controversy, with NCP MLA Sangram Jagtap and residents alleging that he died following police lathi-charge

PUNE: The death of Deepak Wagaskar, 50, president of Sukhleshwar Mitra Mandal, during a Ganpati immersion procession in the Bhingar Camp area of Ahilyanagar on Wednesday night has triggered a controversy, with a local Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Sangram Jagtap and residents alleging that he died following police lathi-charge.

The death of man during Ganpati immersion procession in Ahilyanagar has triggered a controversy, with NCP MLA Sangram Jagtap and residents alleging that he died following police lathi-charge. (HT)

Wagaskar, who was participating in the procession, suddenly fell on the road at around 9.55 pm. He was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead. His body has been sent for autopsy.

The incident prompted a bandh in Bhingar Camp on Thursday, with residents also staging a road blockade to protest against the alleged police action.

The immersion procession was halted following Wagaskar’s death, with three mandals initially deciding not to immerse their idols. The idols were subsequently immersed on Thursday evening.

“During the immersion procession, workers of some mandals were throwing gulal at each other as part of the celebrations. The local police imposed several restrictions on the processionists. Suddenly, they resorted to a lathi-charge, following which Wagaskar died. There was no need for the police to resort to a lathi-charge,” Jagtap alleged.

He demanded stringent action against the police personnel responsible.

Ahilyanagar district superintendent of police M Sudarshan has ordered an inquiry into the incident. The local crime branch will conduct the probe.

Sudarshan, however, denied that police had resorted to a lathi-charge. “The police did not resort to a lathi-charge. They used mild force to control the processionists as some of them were dancing on a temporary structure on a tractor being used for immersion. There could have been an accident if they had fallen from the structure onto the road,” he said.

Police officials said some of the processionists had also splashed gulal on police personnel while dancing on the temporary structure. They said police used mild force to bring them down from the tractor.

The exact cause of Wagaskar’s death will be established after the autopsy report, while the police inquiry will examine the circumstances leading to his collapse during the procession.