A structure is set on fire by protesters after a replica of the Constitution was vandalised in Parbhani, Maharashtra on December 11, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Constitution’s replica displayed in a glass box outside Parbhani railway station was damaged on December 10. Eyewitnesses alleged that Sopan Pawar, a 45-year-old Maratha, was responsible. Within minutes of the incident, almost 300 persons, mostly from Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA), a political party founded by Prakash Ambedkar, gathered at Parbhani station in protest. They stopped the Nandigram Express for half an hour. Police managed to disperse them and booked 80 people under section 191 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. But the incident did not stop here.
The next day, VBA and other Ambedkarite organisations announced a “Parbhani bandh” to protest the vandalism. The bandh was peaceful until the afternoon of December 11. But later, vehicles were torched, there were incidents of stone pelting and the chairs at the District Collector’s office were broken by the angry protesters.
The Parbhani police imposed an internet shutdown on the day. They filed 10 first information reports (FIRs) and arrested 50 persons. All 50 were taken into police custody. Somnath Suryavanshi, 35, a law aspirant, was one of them. On December 15, Suryavanshi complained of chest pain while in judicial custody. The same evening he died at the Parbhani district jail. His postmortem revealed that his death was a result of “internal and external injuries which shocked him”.
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Suryavanshi’s death supported accusations made by Dalit organisations about police brutality. Rahul Pradhan, president of Yuva Panther, an aggressive youth organisation, posted multiple videos on X. In these videos, police were seen carrying out a “combing operation” to take protesters into custody. Pradhan said, “Parbhani police mishandled the situation. They arrested people with complete prejudice. All the accused in judicial custody have injuries. They were transferred from police custody to judicial custody without medical checkups. The protest is being used to muzzle the Dalit voice of Parbhani.”
Death in police custody
Although the police denied these charges, Suryavanshi’s mother Vijaya Suryavanshi made a shocking claim. She told a local newspaper, “First they [the police] beat my son, which is why he died. Later they told me that he died from a heart attack. But the postmortem report is there. They killed my son. I want the concerned police personnel to be arrested for this crime.”
The Bhim Nagar area of Parbhani is tense after the police action. Sudhakar Jadhav, a resident of Bhim Nagar, has been speaking about police atrocities. “On December 11, around 2 pm a large police force entered Bhim Nagar. Four police entered my house. They beat up my son. When I tried to stop them, they beat me too,” said Jadhav.
Sushil Kambale a local corporator of Bhim Nagar, alleged that police action in his area was inhumane. “Those who had nothing to do with the protest were beaten by the police, who broke doors of many houses and entered, even attacking women.”
Police have denied these charges. Shahaji Umap, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Nanded range said, “Police have neither taken up combing operations nor barged into the houses. Only those who were involved in unlawful activities during the protest were booked under the law.” He also claimed that the reports of police beating protesters in custody are false. When asked about Suryavanshi’s death, Umap said, “This is being investigated so we will not talk about it now.”
The State government, which was sworn in just a week ago, has come under fire from activists, Ambedkarites as well as opposition parties. Prakash Ambedkar visited Parbhani on December 16. He called the police action “barbaric”. The bias of police against Dalits is on display in the Parbhani case, he said. “Their action was provocative to an otherwise peaceful protest. There should be an investigation into police action,” Ambedkar demanded.
“Police took action against peaceful protesters. Protesting for the adherence to the Constitution has become a crime. Suryavanshi’s death needs to be investigated because it will reveal the real face of the government”Jitendra AwhadMLA of NCP (Sharad Pawar)
Opposition leaders see the incident as proof of the government’s casteist mindset. Jitendra Awhad, Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) (NCP-SP) said, “Police took action against peaceful protesters. Protesting for the adherence to the Constitution has become a crime. Suryavanshi’s death needs to be investigated because it will reveal the real face of the government.”
Congress State chief Nana Patole visited Parbhani on December 18. He met the families of Suryavanshi and others. Patole said, “The Parbhani violence is the result of the police mishandling the situation.”
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But all these charges were rejected by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. “The Constitution is the highest place of worship for us. The Parbhani incident of vandalising the Constitution was done by a mentally challenged person. The reaction to this was obvious but it should be Constitutional. We have told police not to take action against genuine protesters. But there were some people who torched cars and participated in other unlawful activities. Action will be taken against these people only,” said Fadnavis in Nagpur during the Winter Session of the State Assembly.
Parbhani, in the Marathwada region, has been boiling on caste fault lines after Maratha protests for reservations erupted in 2023. During the Lok Sabha election, the Maratha were joined by Dalits and Muslims against BJP. But in the Assembly election, the BJP managed to mobilise OBCs as well as some Maratha. This helped the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance win 41 out of 46 seats.
The Parbhani violence and its aftermath can expose more caste fault lines and could disrupt the harmony in the region.