MUMBAI, July 5 -- The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court on Friday directed the police to register a first information report (FIR) in the custodial death of Somnath Suryawanshi, who was arrested in Parbhani in December 2024 following violence in the city over the desecration of a glass-encased replica of the Constitution. The division bench of justices Vibha Kankanwadi and Sanjay A Deshmukh observed that prima facie evidence in the case indicated that Suryavanshi may have been tortured in custody and directed the Mondha police station in Parbhani to register the FIR within one week. The bench also asked the superintendent of police (SP) of Parbhani to hand over the investigation to an officer of deputy superintendent of police rank. The court was hearing a writ petition filed by Vijayabai Suryawanshi in April 2025, alleging police brutality had caused her son's death and seeking an independent, court-monitored probe into the incident. The petition - filed through advocates Prakash Ambedkar, Sandesh More and Hitendra Gandhi - sought registration of a first information report (FIR) against police officers and their associates responsible for Somnath Suryawanshi's custodial death, grievous injuries to other victims and outraging the modesty of women in police custody. On December 10, 2024, a replica of the Constitution kept near a statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar outside the railway station in Parbhani was vandalised following a public meeting organised by Hindu Sakal Samaj Morcha, a far right group. The incident led to a spate of reactionary protests and the arrest of over 50 young men and women including Somnath Suryavanshi, who was visiting Parbhani to appear for his final-year law examination. Vijayabai Suryawanshi's petition referred to the chain of events, saying, "The assault on Somnath Suryavanshi was so brutal that he died within hours of being admitted to the state-run hospital in Parbhani after being sent to judicial custody." A police officer named Ashok Ghorband subsequently offered Rs.50 lakh to Vijayabai Suryawanshi for not filing a police complaint, the plea mentioned. Advocate Prakash Ambedkar, representing Vijayabai, submitted that Suryawanshi was unnecessarily roped by the police, with material on record to manifest "gross violation of human rights". Public prosecutor AB Girase said the court could not direct the registration of an FIR based on contrary documents or incomplete inquiry. The bench of justices Kankanwadi and Deshmukh took serious note of the delay in registration of the FIR, considering the presence of evidence, the magisterial inquiry and postmortem reports, and inquest noting visible injuries. "The postmortem report shows that there were 24 visible injuries," the court observed. The court criticised the state CID for seeking opinion from medical experts in Mumbai instead of approaching the team that had conducted the autopsy....