19 years after Pardhi activist’s custodial death, SIT formed to re-investigate case

In June this year, during a meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Kale’s family had demanded an SIT probe, alleging lapses and wrongdoings by the CID.

Who was Suman Kale?

A resident of Burudgaon village in Ahmednagar (now Ahilyanagar) district in Maharashtra, Suman was a police informer who played a role in the surrender of over a hundred criminals from the Pardhi tribe.

Her family has preserved the photographs of ‘Atmasamarpan Melava’ (a surrender rally), where Kale was felicitated by top police and government officers for her work.

Suman Kale being felicitated by IPS officer Vishwas Nangare Patil. (Photo Credit: Special Arrangement)

The Britishers had notified the Pardhi tribe as a ‘criminal tribe’ under the Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) of 1871. In 1949, the government of India repealed the CTA and in 1952, denotified several ‘criminal tribes’, including the Pardhis.

Death in police custody

Suman Kale’s son Saheba said the police picked her up from home on May 12, 2007. “We got to know that a woman, Astari Chavan, arrested in a dacoity case, falsely told the police that Suman was in possession of the gold looted during the crime. So, the police took my mother. But they did not arrest her. They tortured her brutally till she died. The police informed us about her death on May 16,” said Saheba.

Denying the allegations, the police claimed that Suman Kale died by consuming poison because of harassment done by her husband. The police said that Suman Kale came to the office of the superintendent (SP) of police on May 14, 2007, along with her nephew, saying she had “consumed lice pesticide”.

The police said they rushed her to a private hospital, where she died on May 16. They further lodged an FIR of attempt to suicide against Suman Kale under Indian Penal Code Section 309.

But a legal inquiry conducted by then sub-divisional magistrate Vikas Pansare rejected this version. Citing forensic and post-mortem records, Pansare’s inquiry report dated January 8, 2008 – accessed by The Indian Express – claims that Astari was “made to name Suman Kale in the jewellery dacoity case” by policemen. It also says that Suman Kale had been “inflicted with multiple wounds at the hands of police” between May 13 and 14, 2007, in the “illegal custody of the superintendent of police and his special investigation team.”

State Human Right Commission ordered the government to pay Rs 5 lakhs in compensation to Suman Kale’s family.

CID probe

As per the procedure, CID investigates the cases of death in police custody in Maharashtra. In Suman Kale’s case, more than two years after her death, on August 14, 2009, the CID booked seven police personnel and a private doctor on charges of abetment of suicide, causing grievous hurt to extract confession, wrongful confinement and giving false information to screen offender. All eight were arrested in December 2010 but were eventually released on bail.

According to CID, Suman Kale was picked up by the police on May 12, 2007, then confined illegally and tortured for extracting a confession of possessing the stolen gold. CID, too, claimed that Suman Kale consumed poison in police custody on May 14, as she could not bear the torture, and then, to hide the incident, the police allegedly admitted her to a private hospital, instead of taking her to a government hospital, where she died on May 16. CID alleged that to screen the offence committed by the police, the private hospital created false records in respect of her injuries and treatment.

Family moves high court

Not satisfied with CID’s probe, Suman Kale’s family moved petitions before the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court seeking murder charges against the accused and handing over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Suman Kale’s brother Girish Chavan said they produced the chemical analyser’s report dated September 9, 2007, in the high court. “The report stated no poison was detected in the laboratory after chemical analysis of stomach wash, viscera and also in nails and hair of the deceased (Suman Kale). This shows CID’s claim that Suman died by consuming poison was false,” he said.

The high court passed an order on January 13, 2021, stating, “The court had made some observations regarding the evidence, which is available for consideration of framing of charge for the offences punishable under Sections 302, 201 read with 120b of the IPC, and it is open to the trial court to consider that evidence at the time of framing of charge.”

The high court also ordered Rs 5 lakh compensation for Suman Kale’s family and stated that the “trial court is expected to decide the case within six months from the date of receipt of this judgment.” But the matter is still pending before the Ahilyanagar court. And, in April 2023, the high court discharged the accused private doctor in this case, just a few months after the trial court had rejected his discharge application.

Demand for SIT

“We were upset that CID did not even inform us that the accused doctor was discharged by the high court. It was suspicious that CID did not appeal against it in the Supreme Court,” said Chavan.

After repeated requests from Suman Kale’s family, the government appointed advocate Prakash Salsingikar as special public prosecutor (SPP) in this case in October 2024. He wrote to the CID for filing an appeal in the Supreme Court against the high court order discharging an accused.

“Overriding the SPP’s letter, additional public prosecutor Hoke Patil from Aurangabad bench of HC gave a legal opinion on March 27, 2025, that it was not a fit case for filing an appeal in SC. This was shocking. So I wrote to Chief Public Prosecutor Amarjeetsingh Girase, who verified the case details and communicated to the CID on December 29, 2025, for challenging the HC’s discharge order in SC. CID’s inaction was fishy. Also, the IPS officer who was district SP at the time of Suman Kale’s death is now heading CID… So we approached the chief minister with the help of noted social worker Padma Shri Girish Prabhune and Vivek Vichar Manch. Demanding an SIT probe, we submitted relevant case documents and letters exposing the wrongdoings of CID. We are thankful that an SIT probe is ordered and hope to get justice,” said Chavan.