In a landmark verdict, the Washim District and Sessions Court on Thursday sentenced nine police personnel, including the then in-charge of Risod police station, to life imprisonment in a 2011 custodial death case. District and Sessions Judge Jaysing Zhapate delivered the judgment, bringing justice to the victim’s family after 15 years. The verdict has caused a stir in the police force and the Home Department.
On May 9, 2011, a police team from Risod police station in Washim district raided a Pardhi settlement at Vadhona in Sengaon taluka of Hingoli district. During the operation, a youth, Begya Pawar, was detained as a suspect in a theft case and kept in police custody, where he was allegedly beaten to extract a confession. He died on May 10, 2011, triggering widespread outrage and demands for a thorough probe.
The CID investigated the case for 34 days, after which charges of murder and offences under the Atrocities Act were registered against the policemen. The court convicted then station in-charge Mahadev Manik Dhande along with Madan Keshav Pawar, Shivaji Namdev Khillari, Punjab Manikrao Patkar, Ramesh Sitaram Pawar, Prakash Hiralal Taram, Nagorao Bhagwan Khandke, Ashok Nivrutti Vaidya and Vasant Kaniram Jadhav. The victim’s parents said their son was framed only because he belonged to the Pardhi community. Government pleader Adv. Shriram Kalu represented the victim’s family.
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