Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s day-long visit of Dhule and Nandurbar districts on Wednesday was marred by controversy after security personnel took the son and wife of the late farmer Dharma Patil into preventive custody to ensure that they did not create any ‘commotion’ during the tour.
Patil’s son Narendra and his wife Sakhubai were detained by the local police as a ‘precautionary measure’ ahead of Mr. Fadnavis visit to Dhule. The case of 84-year-old Dharma Patil, who died during treatment after consuming poison in January this year inside the Mantralaya in Mumbai, became a cause célèbre with the Opposition as well as activists using it as a symbol of the government’s apathy towards the plight of farmers.
He was demanding higher compensation for his five-acre mango farm in Dhule, which had been acquired by the Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Limited (Mahagenco) in 2012 for a solar power project.
The detention of Patil’s kin led to protests from the Opposition, including the Congress, in Dhule and the Sambhaji Brigade in Pune.
“At a time when farmers are committing suicides, the least the Chief Minister could have done was to have met with the kin of Patil, who lost his life because of bureaucratic apathy. Instead they are thrown into a police cell to preclude any disturbance,” said Jayantkumar Sonawane of the Dhule Youth Congress.
Condemning the preventive detention, Santosh Shinde of the Sambhaji Brigade called the police’s action as “outrageous.”
“Dharma Patil gave up his life fighting for justice…if this is how the present BJP government honours his memory by placing his son and wife into preventive custody, then all farmers and their sons will bring down this government in the 2019 elections,” said Mr. Shinde.
Patil, along with his son, had come to the Mantralaya in Mumbai on January 22 to seek an audience with the Ministers over the inadequate compensation offered to them for their land which was acquired for the Methi-Vikhran solar power plant.
When he could not meet any Minister or official, a frustrated Patil consumed pesticide. He died during treatment at Mumbai’s JJ Hospital a week later.
Patil’s death caused a furore in the Legislature, prompting the State government to announce a compensation of ₹50 lakh for Patil’s family.
However, earlier this month, Narendra Patil had climbed a mobile tower in Dhule and threatened to commit suicide if the State did not give his family an additional compensation of ₹6 lakh.
He had also demanded that the State government initiate action against errant revenue department officers for lapses during land acquisition.
Mr. Narendra Patil’s action had thrown the Dhule administration and Mahagenco officials into a tizzy. He relented only after the State Energy Department announced the additional compensation to be given to the Patil family.
