Kolhapur custody death: MHRC tells government to sensitise cops, awards Rs5 lakh to deceased's kin
"In view of the loss of life of a young person... due to the merciless beating by the police while he was in custody... the alleged crime of the deceased was just pelting stones and obstructing police... we feel that the desecrated has paid a heavy price for the same," noted justice SR Bannurmath, chairman of MHRC, in his order.
A year after the alleged custodial death of a 21-year-old youth, accused of stone-pelting, rocked Kolhapur, the Maharashtra Human Rights Commission (MHRC) pulled the home department up, asking it to sensitise the police. The MHRC, which recently held a court in Kolhapur, also awarded a compensation of Rs5 lakh to the family of deceased Jagdish Powar.
"In view of the loss of life of a young person... due to the merciless beating by the police while he was in custody... the alleged crime of the deceased was just pelting stones and obstructing police... we feel that the desecrated has paid a heavy price for the same," noted justice SR Bannurmath, chairman of MHRC, in his order.
The commission further found the compensation amount paid by the social welfare department inadequate and, hence, directed payment of another Rs5 lakh. "No doubt, from the report, it appears a financial assistance of Rs1,87,500 was given by the government in September 2014, the commission feels it is an inadequate price for the life of a young man... and, in our view, is a fit case to award compensation to the family of the deceased. ...an interim compensation of Rs5 lakh would meet the ends of justice," the commission added.
The post-mortem report had found 23 injuries on Powar's body out of which 10 were internal injuries to vital organs. The cause of these injuries was found to be use of sharp and hard objects.
According to the Pethvadgaon police station report, Powar was taken into custody on August 12 afternoon for allegedly pelting stones at a Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation bus. "There was a fight between two groups during the celebrations of Mahalaxmi yatra on Friday. Powar and residents of Siddharth Nagar in Pethvadgaon were demanding action against the people involved in the fight. After the stone-pelting incident, he was detained and taken into custody. Around 3.30pm on Saturday, Powar started to feel uneasy and the police decided to rush him to the Chhatrapati Pramila Raje government hospital in Kolhapur," states the police report.
However, after much uproar over his death, Powar's case was transferred to Criminal Investigation Department, Kolhapur unit, which, in December, held three policemen responsible for the alleged custodial death. Assistant inspector Sanjiv Ramchandra Patil, assistant sub-inspector Baban Dadu Shinde and naik Dhanaji Shivajirao Patil have been named in the charge sheet. The three have been under suspension since Powar's death.