‘Killed because he was Dalit’: Rahul Gandhi visits kin of man who died in judicial custody | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday visited the family of Somnath Suryavanshi, a Dalit man who died in judicial custody after being arrested in connection with violence in Parbhani, Maharashtra. Rahul alleged that Somnath was “killed because he was a Dalit protecting the Constitution.”
Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul told news agency ANI, “I have met the family and those who have been killed and beaten up. They showed me the post-mortem report, videos, and photographs. This is 100% a custodial death. He has been murdered and the chief minister lied in the Assembly to give a message to the police. This young man was killed because he was a Dalit and was protecting the Constitution.
Rahul continued that, “The ideology of the RSS is to destroy the Constitution. We want this matter to be resolved immediately and those who have done this should be punished. No politics is being done. The ideology is responsible, because the chief minister has made this statement so the Chief Minister is responsible, those who have killed him are responsible and action should be taken as soon as possible.”

Rahul was accompanied by state Congress president Nana Patole and other party leaders to visit and pay homage to the deceased.
Violence in Parbhani erupted after a glass-enclosed replica of the Constitution near Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’s statue outside the city’s railway station in the Marathwada region was vandalised on the evening of December 10.

The deceased, identified by police as 35-year-old Somnath Vyankat Suryavanshi, a resident of Shankarnagar, was among over 50 individuals arrested in connection with the riots and arson in Parbhani on December 11.
He passed away on December 15 at a government hospital after experiencing chest discomfort whilst in judicial custody at Parbhani district central prison.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Nanded) Shahaji Umap had earlier told TOI that, “Suryavanshi complained of severe chest pain early Sunday morning following which the Parbhani district jail authorities took him to the district civil hospital. The doctors there examined and declared him dead.”
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had earlier announced a judicial investigation into the Parbhani unrest. He informed the state assembly that Suryavanshi had confirmed to a magistrate about not being tortured, with CCTV footage showing no signs of violence.
The police FIR documented that on December 11 night, authorities charged 50 identified and 300-400 unidentified people with rioting and arson. After Suryavanshi’s arrest by the local crime branch, he appeared before court on December 12, received police custody until December 14, and then transferred to judicial custody.