Nearly 3 years on, elderly farmer's mysterious death reaches Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has received a criminal writ petition raising serious concern over the mysterious death of a 70yearold farmer from Tapkiri Shetpal village in Pandharpur district The petitioner has claimed that he was killed by his own son because the elderly man had scolded the youth for being in a relationship with a married woman after catching them in a compromising position in a sugarcane field on the village outskirtsThe petition will come up for hearing in the Bombay High Court once it reopens after vacation File picThe conspiracySpeaking to midday advocate Rajeshwar Panchal who moved the writ petition a copy of which is with midday on behalf of Chandrakant Bonge the womans husband said The deceased Vishnu Bonge was assaulted and strangulated by his son Popat on December 26 2014 who also hung his body from a tree on the village outskirts to make it appear like a suicide When news of the death spread Popat and his friends hurriedly cremated the body before the police could reach the spot destroying crucial evidenceA day before his death Vishnu had told a fellow villager Gorakhnath Nivartti Gadade that he was upset with Popats illicit relationship Panchal addedGadade had submitted a written complaint to then inspector of Pandharpur police station superintendent of police Solapur rural police and even the state director general of police naming Popat and others as accused The then SP Solapur rural had forwarded the complaint to the inspector of Pandharpur police station asking for a report in the matterPanchal said Based on the complaint the Pandharpur police recorded the statement of Dattatray Patil the village police patil and filed a complaint under IPC section 176 omission to give notice or information to public servant by person legally bound to give it against Popat trying to suppress Vishnus murder while making a farcical show of compliance with procedure as per CrPC section 174 An attempt was made to project as if the deceased had committed suicide After Gadades death a few months later Chandrakant decided to continue the fightDirty khakiPanchal said The police had all the evidence to nail the accused not just for murder but also for conspiracy and destruction of evidence but they worked in the interest of the accused A highlevel probe should be initiatedHe added that the spot panchnama done by the Pandharpur police on January 1 2015 omitted the fact that the tree on which Vishnu was hung was later felled in a bid to destroy evidenceOn January 20 2015 the Judicial Magistrate First Class Pandharpur held Popat guilty only under IPC section 176 imposing a fine of R500 or simple imprisonment for eight days on failure to pay the amountJustice now at leastChandrakant told midday I want all those involved arrested and booked for the crimes they have committed My only aim in moving HC has been to get justice for VishnuI wasnt aware of my wifes affair with Popat until one afternoon when I returned home from the farm for lunch and didnt find her home After looking for her all over I walked towards the sugarcane field and spotted them in a compromising position he addedSuperintendent of Police Solapur rural Sangankal Veeresh Prabhu said Since taking charge this is the first time I am hearing about this case I am not aware about any petition filed in HC either I will have to go back to the papers and our records We will surely carry out an inquiry as it is a serious allegationNumerous attempts made to contact Inspector General of Police Kolhapur range Vishwas Nangre Patil did not yield any resultRs 500The paltry fine imposed on the alleged culprit