The recent death of a person from the Pardhi community in the custody of the Pune unit of the railway police has sparked a row in Maharashtra. The deceased has been identified as Nagesh Ramdas Pawar (29), a resident of Jamkhed in Ahmednagar district. Nagesh was a native of Mohol in Solapur district of Maharashtra, police sources said.
Family members of the deceased have alleged that Nagesh died as he was tortured in police custody. The railway police have denied the allegation and claimed that Nagesh died at the Sassoon hospital in Pune while undergoing treatment for pneumonia.
Nagesh’s sister Rani Pawar, a resident of Vaiduwadi in Hadapsar area of Pune city, said: “Nagesh came to my house for Raksha Bandhan festival. Then on August 15, he sold Tricolour flags to earn some money. On August 16, the railway police raided my house and took Nagesh away with them, saying they would leave him after conducting some inquiry. But he was placed under arrest in some old cases.”
“Next day on August 16, he was produced before a court. I saw him in the court and he looked fine, with no medical problems. The court remanded him in police custody till August 24. On August 23, I got to know from the police that they had admitted Nagesh to Sassoon hospital as he was suffering from some medical problems. He subsequently died at the hospital. He was not a criminal,” added Rani.
However, Sadanand Wayse Patil, superintendent of police with the Pune Unit of the railway police, said: “The deceased man was wanted in eight offences of robbery committed over the last five years. In police custody, he started experiencing breathing trouble. He was admitted to the Sassoon General Hospital on August 20 where he was diagnosed with pneumonia. After his death during the treatment, an autopsy has been performed as per the procedure in the presence of a magistrate.”
When asked about the allegation of the deceased’s family members that he was beaten up in police custody, Wayse Patil said: “The primary autopsy report has ruled out any external injury. Moreover, he (Nagesh) was presented before the court twice and, on both occasions, when the judge asked him whether he was beaten up in police custody, he had replied in the negative. After the death, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was informed and it has launched a probe.”
Regarding the CID inquiry, Nagesh’s cousin Sachin Pawar said: “The police will try to save fellow policemen. So we are against the CID inquiry. We demand a three-member judicial inquiry into the role of the police in the custodial death of Nagesh.”
He added, “The police say they admitted him to the hospital on August 20. Then, why did they not inform the family on the same day. The court remanded Nagesh in police custody because he was medically fit. If there was any medical problem, the court would not have granted police custody for him. We believe he was tortured badly by the railway police. Action should be taken against the police as per the law.”
Social activist and Padma Shree awardee Girish Prabhune said: “I have known Nagesh since his childhood. His death in police custody is shocking. It is hard to believe that he was involved in any crime. He was a hardworking person. He has school-going children. His death is suspicious and needs a fair investigation… There have been many cases in the past wherein members of the Pardhi community were arrested under false charges and tortured.”
A delegation led by Prabhune held a meeting regarding the death of Nagesh with Sassoon hospital authorities Wednesday. Hospital authorities, however, did not speak to the media about the meeting.
An autopsy of Nagesh’s body was conducted at the hospital Wednesday. Meanwhile, the issue of Nagesh’s custodial death was taken up in the ongoing state assembly session by MLC Ram Shinde and MLA Rohit Pawar.
When contacted, Pradnya Saravade, Additional Director General of Police (Railways), said: “I have been informed about the death. The CID has launched a probe into the incident. The further course of action will be decided based on the findings.”
The police said they have also arrested Nagesh’s father-in-law for his alleged involvement in cases of robbery. Nagesh is survived by his wife and three children.
