Maharashtra: Man from Phase Pardhi tribe dies in police custody in Solapur, torture alleged

A 35yearold man from the Phase Pardhi tribe died early this week after allegedly being subjected to custodial torture at Vijapur Naka police station in Solapur district His family said that the tribersquos members are often picked up by the police when a crime takes place in the city Bhima Kale died in a hospital on October 3 but his family did not take his body for two daysThe body was kept in the hospitalrsquos mortuary as the family and hundreds of Pardhi tribals staged a sitin in Solapur and demanded a probe On October 5 the family accepted the body and his last rites were conductedDeceased Bhima KaleKale lived with his wife Swati and seven children and used to work as a labourer in a field said his cousin Rajesh Kale who is a corporator and deputy mayor at Solapur Municipal CorporationKept in detentionldquoHe was picked up by police on September 18 but he was produced before the court on September 23 Why did the police keep him in illegal detention for almost a week He was badly beaten during the illegal detentionrdquo Rajesh told middayThe Phase Pardhi tribals protest demanding a probe after Bhima Kalersquos death in a government hospital PicHanif PatelRajesh further alleged that the police broke Kalersquos legs and wanted him to confess to crimes he had not committed ldquoBoth his legs were broken as he was beaten up in police custodyrdquo Rajesh saidldquoOn September 23 the court sent him to two daysrsquo police remand And when his wife went to meet him at Vijapur Naka police station she saw him bleeding from his leg and writhing in painrdquo he addedRajesh Kale deputy mayor of Solapur Municipal Corporation and Bhima Kalersquos cousinldquoOn September 24 his wife approached the court which ordered quick intervention Kale was to be produced in court again on September 25 but he was admitted to a government hospital before that and a constable was sent for the court hearingrdquo Rajesh saidSwatirsquos advocate Rajendrasingh Bayas said ldquoThe constable was pulled up by the judge as the Investigating Officer Assistant Police Inspector API Shantikumar Kolhyal should have appeared before the courtrdquo Although a videotaped postmortem was conducted the family has not been given a report yet ldquoThere is something fishy which needs to be thoroughly investigatedrdquo Bayas saidWhy the discriminationState president of Dadaji Adivasi Phase Pardhi Samaj Sangathana Matin Bhosale said ldquoOur community often has to face police brutality and social discrimination The police know that there is no one to help us and hence they harass us They think we are criminals Who gave API Kolhyal the right to assault Kale in police custodyrdquo Bhosale saidldquoPhase Pardhi community has been living with the tag of thieves or burglars since colonial times The police produce fake or concocted evidence to nail Phase Pardhi tribalsrdquo said BhosaleldquoWe have been requesting senior police officers and politicians to book the responsible policemen for Kalersquos murderrdquo said Bhosale adding ldquoHis kin must be given a government job as compensation as he has seven children aged between two and 10 yearsrdquoHe was unwell PolicePolice claimed that Kale died of multiple diseases including lsquoheart and kidney ailmentsrsquo However the matter has been handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department CID Solapur for a probeCommissioner of Solapur police Ankush Shinde said ldquoKale was a historysheeter and we had arrested him in a housebreaking theft case as his motorcycle was seen near a crime scenerdquoldquoBut soon after his arrest he fell ill and we got him admitted to a hospital where he died The cause of death mentioned in the postmortem report says that he died of coronary artery diseaserdquo Shinde saidPolice Inspector Uday Patil however said ldquoKale was under dialysis as his kidneys were damaged He was also undergoing psychiatric treatment After his death we registered an Accidental Death Report and the CID Solapur team is investigating the matterrdquoAsked about Kalersquos broken legs Patil said ldquoHis legs were not broken They were bandaged after they got swollen as no urine was getting passed due to kidney damagerdquoRajesh however said ldquoThe police have manipulated facts to safeguard their own men Kale was completely fit and finerdquo18Day in Sept cops picked up Bhima Kale23Day in Sept he was produced in court for remand hearing