Akola clashes: Sole breadwinner of family was on way from work when violence claimed his life

“We were not informed about his death till we saw the picture of his body in a local newspaper on Sunday. We only knew that he was injured and was in hospital. We rushed to the government hospital in the morning where we saw his body,” said his father-in-law, Mohan Gundawale.

Gaikwad, who was the sole breadwinner in the family, stayed in a 10×10 square feet room with his wife and three children at Bhagat Singh Nagar in Akola, where he had been working as an electrician for two decades.

On Saturday night also, he had stepped out to fix a broken electrical instrument in a nearby locality. Police, who earlier believed that Gaikwad was part of the rioting mob, said that he was attacked while returning home.

“He was unaware of the violence and while he was returning home, a group allegedly attacked him,” said police inspector Sevanand Wankhade of Old City police station in Akola, where a case of murder has been registered against his attackers.

The family claimed to know that Gaikwad was injured after a neighbour informed them about it. “We thought that he must have sustained some minor injury… we did not bother to look for him in the night assuming that he must have gone to his friend’s place. However, the next day we came to know that he had died,” said Rajkarnya, his wife.

“He is not well educated but he is a quick learner,” said Sachin Ambaskar, friend of Gaikwad, a class 8 dropout.

Rajkarnya added, “He did not do any course but he had a friend who was working as an electrician. He (Gaikwad) learned to repair electrical items from the friend.”

Local residents of Bhagat Singh Nagar fondly remember him as one who was always ready to help others.

Adding that they don’t want compensation, family members said they would be grateful if the government helps them with a job. “Gaikwad was the only earning member in the family and he lost his life in such an incident. We do not expect or want any kind of compensation from the government. We just hope that the government helps them in getting either his wife or their 19-year-old daughter employed so that will help the family with a steady income,” said his father-in-law.

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