Rahul Gandhi Visits Parbhani Today to Console Family of Dalit Man Found Dead in Judicial Custody

Parbhani (Maharashtra), Dec 23 (NationPress) Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, is traveling to Parbhani on Monday to meet with the grieving families of a local Dalit youth who was found dead while in judicial custody. This tragedy occurred amid the unrest that followed the desecration of a statue of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, as indicated by party officials.

During his brief stay, Gandhi plans to visit the family of Somnath Vyankat Suryawanshi, 35, a student pursuing his LLB, and Vijay Wakode, another Dalit social worker who sadly passed away from a heart attack while trying to manage the violent mobs on December 11-12.

The Congress leader is expected to arrive in Nanded via a special flight later this morning and then proceed to Parbhani to meet the two families who have lost their loved ones.

Accompanying him will be senior party figures such as Ramesh Chennithala, state president Nana Patole, and various MPs and MLAs including Dr. Shivaji Kalge, Ravindra V. Chavan, Dr. Kalyan Kale, Vijay Wadettiwar, Amit Deshmukh, Vijay Balasaheb Thorat, among others.

Suryawanshi, who belonged to the Wadar community, was arrested in connection with the violent protests that erupted after the statue of Dr. Ambedkar was desecrated near the Parbhani Railway Station on December 10 by an individual identified as Sopan Pawar, described as 'mentally disturbed.'

In the wake of the sacrilege, a tense shutdown ensued in Parbhani, with local police detaining approximately 300 individuals, predominantly Dalits, including Suryawanshi on December 12.

Tragically, just 72 hours later, Suryawanshi was found dead in judicial custody, igniting widespread outrage from the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and INDIA bloc allies, who have raised the issue through multiple platforms.

The MVA coalition, comprising Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Shiv Sena (UBT), Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA), CPI (Marxist), Republican Party of India (A), and others, criticized the ruling BJP-Sena-NCP Mahayuti government for this incident.

Due to the uproar in the Maharashtra Legislature in Nagpur and outside, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced compensation for the grieving family, initiated a judicial inquiry, and formed a Special Investigation Team to thoroughly investigate the situation.

The Parbhani Police previously claimed that Suryawanshi had complained of chest pain and was subsequently taken to the hospital. In contrast, opposition leaders suggested there were attempts to politicize Parbhani as a site of caste-related riots similar to the Koregaon-Bhima incidents of January 1, 2018.

However, a preliminary autopsy report from the Government Medical College in Aurangabad revealed that he died from shock due to multiple injuries, escalating the political controversy.

The MVA and Dalit leaders have strongly asserted that he was severely beaten by the police, which was corroborated by the provisional post-mortem report dated December 16.

Recently, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar visited Parbhani as well as Beed, where local Sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh was tortured and killed, leading to significant political and social outcry.

In response, NCP chief and Deputy CM Ajit A. Pawar quickly visited Beed to comfort the grieving family as one of his party's senior ministers faced scrutiny regarding the killing.