The Kolhapur sessions court on Friday awarded a life imprisonment sentence to two police officers and a police constable in connection with the custodial death of a 21-year-old youth in August 2014.
Additional District and Sessions Judge L. D. Bile sentenced the three police personnel, Assistant Police Inspector (API) Sanjiv Ramchandra Patil, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Baban Dadu Shinde and police naik Dhanaji Shivajirao Patil to life for the death of the youth named Jagdish alias ‘Sunny’ Powar while directing a penalty of Rs. 15,000 to be paid by each of the accused.
Judge Bile further directed a sum of Rs. 25,000 from the penalty amount to be paid to the family of the deceased as ‘compensation’.
According to the official version, a clash broke out between two groups during the Mahalaxmi Yatra celebrations August 23, 2014.
Following this, Powar and some residents, who belonged to one of the factions involved in the clash, demanded police action against the other group. The group allegedly indulged in violent protests against the police which culminated in stone-pelting and the damage of a Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC).
Powar was later detained by the police, where he was allegedly beaten up by policemen. He was later rushed to the Chhatrapati Pramila Raje civil hospital in the city where he was declared dead on arrival.
Following this, an irate mob went berserk, torching police vehicles and hurtling stones on the police station.
A murder complaint against the accused was later filed by Powar’s elder brother, Jaydeep.
The CID which took over the case, concluded the youth’s death as “unnatural” and held the police trio responsible for his death.
