Mumbai: Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will visit Parbhani on Monday to meet the family of a Dalit youth who died under mysterious circumstances while in judicial custody after the violence in the Marathwada town last week.
Gandhi will arrive in Nanded by special flight on Monday afternoon and then travel to Parbhani to offer condolences to the family of Somnath Suryawanshi, who belonged to the Wadar community.
The Congress MP will be accompanied by state Congress President Nana Patole and senior leaders including MLA Vijay Wadettiwar.
Suryawanshi, 35, was one of approximately 300 people, mostly Dalits, detained by police in the aftermath of the violence that erupted on December 10 after the desecration of a statue of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar near Parbhani Railway Station.
He was later found dead in judicial custody just 72 hours later, sparking widespread outrage and accusations of police brutality from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance and Dalit groups.
Following the uproar, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a compensation package for the family, ordered a judicial probe, and appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the death.
Earlier, the Parbhani Police had claimed that Suryawanshi had complained of chest pains and was rushed to hospital for treatment.
However, a provisional autopsy report of December 16 stated that he succumbed to ‘shock following multiple injuries.’ The MVA and Dalit leaders had vociferously alleged that Suryawanshi was brutally beaten by the police and had succumbed to grave injuries.
