Rajeshwar alias Munna Navpute-Gote (30) became the first casualty of the municipal demolition drive in Chikalthana, ending his life early Thursday morning 8 am over fear of losing his home, built painstakingly over years.
Rajeshwar had moved some belongings to a rented house one and a half months ago and was staying there. On Wednesday, he completed farm work, delivered milk, visited family, and retired to the temporary house. On Thursday morning, when he did not wake up and his phone was unreachable, his brother Bhagyashwar and mother checked on him. Breaking the door, they found him hanging. Senior police officer Gajanan Kalyankar from MIDC Cidco reached the scene immediately. Furious at the municipal administration, Rajeshwar’s family and local residents staged a three-hour protest on Jalna Road (5.30 pm to 8.30 pm), demanding murder charges against officials for unilateral action. The family had rebuilt their ancestral home behind Mahadev Temple in 2013-14 and relied on Rajeshwar’s farming and dairy business for livelihood. The municipality arrived around 4 pm, promising assistance but refused the family’s demands for a new home, Rs 50 lakh compensation, and a government job for Rajeshwar’s wife. Police intervened to calm the tense situation, but anger and grief ran high among the family and locals.