Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi visited Parbhani on Monday to meet the family of Somnath Suryawanshi, who died in judicial custody after being arrested following violent protests in the region. Gandhi was accompanied by state Congress president Nana Patole and other Congress leaders.
"After visiting violence-hit Parbhani, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi says, "I have met the family and those who have been killed and beaten up. They showed me the post-mortem report, videos, 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 Gandhi said after the meeting as ANI quoted.
"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," he added.
The violence in Parbhani occurred on December 10 during a bandh protest against the vandalism of a replica of the Constitution near Dr. B. R. Ambedkar’s statue at the Parbhani Railway Station. The protests led to arson, stone-pelting, and extensive damage to public and private property.
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Suryawanshi, who was arrested by the police, died in custody. Vijay Wakhode, an activist of the Ambedkari movement, also died during the unrest from a heart attack while efforts were being made to restore order.
The incident has sparked significant political debate in Maharashtra, with accusations and counter-accusations from various parties. In response to the violence, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a judicial inquiry into the vandalism and the subsequent protests. He also ordered the suspension of police officer Ashok Ghorband in connection with the incident.
After his visit, Gandhi is expected to return to Nanded and take a flight to Delhi at 5:15 PM.