After National Human Rights Commission picks up this paper’s exclusive report, Solapur district officials, police chief yet to send detailed explanation as deadline lapses
Members of the Phase Pardhi community demand a probe into Kale’s death. Pics/Hanif Patel
Spurred by a Phase Pardhi man’s death due to alleged custodial torture, the National Human Rights Commission had sought a detailed report from Maharashtra in six weeks, but the state authorities failed to comply with the deadline that ended in mid-December. As per the Crime Investigation Department, the NHRC’s letter had been addressed to the Solapur police chief and they received it only last week.
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Bhima Kale, 35, from the Phase Pardhi tribe died on October 3, 2021, due to alleged custodial torture at Vijapur Naka police station in Solapur district. Kale, who worked as a farm labourer, lived with his wife Swati and their seven children. She is now struggling to eke out a living.
Bhima Kale’s wife Swati and their seven children at their home in Solapur district
His family alleged that Kale was picked up by the police on September 18 on the suspicion of theft but was produced in court only on September 23. During these six days of “illegal detention”, he was tortured, they said. The role of investigating officer API Shantikumar Kolhyal was in question.
Kale’s family said that Pardhis are often picked up by the police when a crime takes place in the city. They had staged a protest following Kale’s death.
Moved by mid-day’s front-page report of October 9, 2021, on Kale’s custodial death, a Delhi-based human rights activist, Sentinaro Imchen, submitted a complaint at NHRC. “And finally, the NHRC registered a complaint on October 18 and subsequently, the proceedings were taken up on November 11 and the concerned authorities including the district magistrate/collector as well as police commissioner of Solapur district had been directed to submit their detailed reports within six weeks,” said human rights lawyer Dilip Chakma, who is also the member of Indigenous Rights Advocacy Centre.
Swati Kale with her seven children. She has demanded the strictest punishment for the guilty cops
Chakma said the apex rights body sought a detailed report covering all the aspects leading to Kale’s death including documents pertaining to the complaint against him and his subsequent arrest and diary entries showing the sequence of actions, post-mortem report, describing the injuries.
In the letter, Chakma said, NHRC also sought information on “action taken report on the magisterial enquiry report; final outcome/status of departmental action or criminal proceedings, if any; CB/CID inquiry report, if any”.
“Custodial death of any person is the worst form of human rights violation. The Pardhi community is particularly vulnerable and an easy target of false criminalisation because of the ‘criminal tag’. Bhima Kale’s case is of serious concern and investigation must be swift and transparent,” Chakma said.
“It is more than six weeks and the state authorities have failed to respond to the NHRC’s directions seeking detailed reports. The NHRC should take a serious note of the non-submission of the reports,” he added.
Case handed to CID
The commissioner of Solapur police Harish Baijal told mid-day that the matter has been transferred to state CID team which is probing into the matter of alleged custodial death.
When asked if investigating officer API Kolhyal was suspended, Baijal said, “He was suspended in another matter of dereliction of duty.”
Advocate Rajendrasingh Bayas, the counsel for Swati, said he has not been given any document related to the case. “I have learnt that one FIR is also registered against API Kolhyal under section 302 of IPC and Atrocities Act. But the cops are not sharing any case related documents with us,” Bayas said.
A senior police officer attached to Solapur police told mid-day that the cause of Bhima Kale’s death was cellulitis—a kind of bacterial infection—and that he was not subjected to custodial torture at all.
‘Kale’s brother yet to record statement’
Citing the cause of delay in responding to the NHRC letter, a senior CID officer from Pune said it was addressed to Solapur police commissioner. “The letter was directed to us recently and we are about to file a detailed report within a month,” said the officer.
About the progress in the investigation, the CID officer said, “We have recorded the statements of almost all the people concerned in this matter. But the statement of his brother is still pending as he is not available. Medical reports have come to us, station diary entry of his lock-up, CCTV footage, spoke to all the IOs in this case, civil hospital report, inquest panchanama, injury marks if any, provisional cause of death certificate which is given by medical college, etc. have been collected. But the statements of a few people including his brother are yet to be done.”
“The histopathological report is very important but it is still pending. And magisterial enquiry report is also pending,” added the CID officer.
Swati, who’s struggling to feed her children, said, “My husband has left behind seven children… it’s a very big responsibility for me to nourish them. I lead a hand-to-mouth existence…we often have to sleep without dinner…we all miss him.”
“Those who are involved in the custodial torture and the untimely death of my husband must be dealt with iron hand…we have been demanding this since day one but no one listens to poor people like us,” said a choked Swati. However, Kale’s brother Rajesh Kale, who is a corporator and deputy mayor at the Municipal Corporation in Solapur, told mid-day that he and his family members were pressed to withdraw the case. “There are many people who tried to mount pressure on us to withdraw the case…they also offered us a bribe but when we said no, I was externed from Solapur by the police for two years,” said Rajesh, who had led the protests against the policemen immediately after Kale’s death. Rajesh said he was booked in six false cases.
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