The report significantly questions the event that itself led to combing operation and the deaths that followed, indicating that the police have not investigated the desecration of the Constitution replica and the involvement of Datta Sopan Pawar properly.
A fact-finding report by the Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) on the conduct of the Parbhani police after a spate of Ambedkarite protests has raised several red flags and allegations regarding the same. Reporting testimonies of the victims at length, the report has alleged that the police and the state are trying to ‘protect their own’, leaving the victims and survivors of police brutality in the Dalit settlements of Parbhani without justice.
On December 10, a meeting of Hindu Ekta Morcha was organised by Hindu Sakal Samaj in Parbhani. On the same day, a replica of the Constitution of India was desecrated in the city. Following this, the next day, Parbhani saw a reactionary spate of protests and local Ambedkarite organisations called for a bandh. However, some incidents of violence were reported.
In its aftermath, within hours, police conducted combing operations in various Ambedkarite settlements such as, Bhimnagar, Priyadarshini Nagar and Sarangnagar, wherein over 40 Ambedkarite youth were allegedly beaten and arrested by the police, slamming them with stringent sections. Somnath Suryawanshi, a 35-year-old law student who died in custody, was arrested by Parbhani police during this combing operation. His death led to protests across the state and the actions by the police were brought into scrutiny.
Genesis of the violence
One Datta Sopan Pawar has been said to be responsible for the desecration of the Constitution replica, the incident that started it all. However, the fact finding committee has stated that although the police arrested the accused within hours and declared him mentally unstable, they found that the police did not take precaution to prevent the unrest that followed.
“Before and after the desecration of the Constitution replica, no precautions or preventive measures had been taken to maintain law and order. According to eye-witnesses, it was one person from the allegedly violent mob who had attempted to injure Vijay Wakode by throwing a rod, but accidentally, this hit someone else. They go on to explain that, if those in the mob had been from among Dalits, they would have been unlikely to have attacked Wakode. The District Collector and SP, Police ought to have visited Dalit settlements, held peace meetings and created an atmosphere of confidence building and trust,” the fact-finding committee said, with reference to eye-witness accounts.
Further, the committee has raised several questions about the brutal way the police conducted a combing operation in several Dalit settlements in Parbhani, leading to detentions of many citizens.
“The sheer inhumanity and brutality behind the beatings during the combing operations and after that in custody, breaking down doors and windows of Dalit settlements shows a trend that is horrifying,” the report says.
Combing Operations and Custodial Death
The fact-finding committee interviewed 12 victim-survivors from the Ambedkarite settlements to understand the events of December 11, when the combing operations were conducted. The report was released by the CJP on Thursday, January 23.
“They fell upon us just like they attack terrorists; they broke down the doors and windows of people’s houses, broke down the doors of bathrooms and toilets! Male police officers brutally beat up women, they assaulted the elderly. They used caste-based slurs, saying ‘this is what you deserve,’ and beat people with sticks and kicks. They stamped their feet on the heads of victims and rubbed it down on the earth with boots till there was blood; they broke heads, they fractured arms and legs. Then, at the police station, they were (again) beaten on the soles of their feet and palms with police belts in a deliberate and predetermined way to hide any possibilities of marks on the body,” the fact-finding committee writes recounting the eye-witness accounts.”
However, the committee found that no FIRs have been registered against any police officials for the incidents of brutality.
“Eight First Information Reports (FIRs) –criminal complaints –have been filed by the police. As crucially, Dalit victims of police atrocities have filed 12 detailed separate complaints to the Parbhani Police and yet none of these have been registered as an FIR yet,” the report says.
In fact, no FIR has been filed with regard to the custodial death of Somnath Suryawanshi, despite the grave incident creating stir across the state. Suryawanshi was among the 40 who were arrested by the police on December 11. The report says that all the detained/arrested who were produced before the court on December 12 and December 14 had visible signs of injuries. On December 14, Suryawanshi and the other accused were transferred to judicial custody. However, in the early hours of the next day, December 15, he passed away.
“The Post Mortem Report following his tragic death has recorded the cause of his death as ‘shock following multiple injuries’. Somnath Suryawanshi’s mother Vijayabai has filed a complaint before the Parbhani Police and also recorded her statement before the judicial magistrate. Till date, no case has been registered against the police officer who beat Somnath Suryavanshi in police custody and who has been named in the complaint,” the report adds.
While the post-mortem indicated the cause of Suryawanshi’s death as ‘shock following multiple injuries’, the report says that the police had earlier informed his mother Vijayabai the cause of his death was a heart attack. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also stated that the cause of death was respiratory distress. However, Vijayabai said, as per the report, that Somnath was in good health before his arrest.
Further, the report has also raised suspicions regarding the death of the people’s leader Vijay Wakode. Wakode died on December 16, the day after Suryawanshi’s last rites. He had started a peaceful protest against the desecration of the Constitution replica on December 10.
“As per the complaint addressed to the Police Inspector, New Monda Police Station, by Vijay Dashrath Wakode’s son, namely Ashish Vijay Wakode, his father’s protest drew hostility from officers, including Sharad Mare, Turnar, and Ashok Ghorband, who harassed and threatened him. On December 16, after attending Somnath’s funeral, Vijay Wakode succumbed to a heart attack, allegedly caused by relentless police intimidation,” the report states.
Demand for Justice
Ashish has requested for appropriate legal action under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the officers allegedly responsible for his father’s death.
The report significantly questions the event that itself led to combing operation and the deaths that followed, indicating that the police have not investigated the desecration of the Constitution replica and the involvement of Datta Sopan Pawar properly.
“On December 10, shortly before the desecration incident, the Hindu Sakal Samaj, an extremist right-wing group, held a meeting near the Shivaji statue to protest against “atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh.” Located just a few metres from BR Ambedkar’s statue, the Shivaji statue became the site of this gathering, which featured incendiary speeches—a common feature of the organisation’s public events. While it remains unclear whether Sopan Pawar attended this meeting, the police have not investigated this possibility,” the report says, questioning if there was deliberate inaction against the Hindu Sakal Samaj by the police.
The fact-finding committee states at the end that the complainants have demanded action against those responsible for the custodial death of Suryawanshi as well as have asked for protection of the victim-survivors.
The lack of FIRs and the obvious lapses in the investigation have led to the committee suspecting that the police and the state are protecting their own instead of ensuring justice to those who suffered.
The report also makes several remarks regarding the nature of the police brutality in Parbhani. “It appears prima facie that the state government is shielding the guilty police personnel involved in the Parbhani incident and suppressing the truth. Given the above events and the behaviour of certain police officers and staff, it is evident that their deep-rooted caste-based hatred is openly visible,” it states.
The Original Piece may be read here