Mumbai, Apr 10 (PTI) NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Thursday alleged that four out of 51 persons, who were arrested and imprisoned in the temple town of Shirdi in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district on the charge of begging, have died in a hospital.

He demanded an in-depth probe into their deaths and also sought action against those responsible for it.

In a post on X, Pawar, who represents the Karjat-Jamkhed assembly constituency in Ahilyanagar, said, “In Shirdi, 51 people were arrested and imprisoned on the charge of begging. As their health deteriorated, some of them were admitted to the district hospital, and four of them died.” Many inhumane acts like not giving water to these patients and keeping them confined to a single room are coming to light, he claimed.

The common man wonders whether the state has started a crackdown on people when the wounds of the Somnath Suryavanshi case are still fresh, he said.

“The government should immediately conduct a thorough investigation into this matter and take strict action against the guilty officials,” Pawar demanded.

Suryavanshi died at a state-run hospital in Parbhani on December 15 last year while in judicial custody, days after he was arrested in connection with violence in the city over the desecration of a glass-encased replica of the Constitution. PTI MR NP