Nanded SP office clerk arrested on charge of abetting friend’s death by suicide

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A 34-year-old clerk attached to the Nanded superintendent of police's office has been arrested for allegedly abetting the suicide of his 25-year-old friend in Hingoli district. The police have also booked three villagers for delaying the deceased man's last rites by nearly 22 hours.The accused, identified as Abhishek Satpute, was arrested by the Akhada Balapur police in connection with the death of a 25-year-old resident of Wadgaon village in Kalamnuri taluka, who was found hanging from a tree on Saturday evening. The police said Satpute is married and has two children.The death sparked protests outside the Akhada Balapur police station, with villagers demanding action against the man they believed drove the 25-year-old to take the extreme step."We did not recover any note, but a case of abetment has been registered based on a complaint by the deceased man's relative who claimed the clerk was pressuring the younger man to continue a same sex relationship," a Hingoli district police officer, who did not wish to be named, said on Monday.According to the police, Satpute and the 25-year-old had been close friends for around five years, and the younger man's family was aware of their association. On Saturday, Satpute travelled from Nanded to Hingoli and spent the day with the man. Later that night, while they were in nearby fields, the younger man went towards the bushes on the pretext of answering nature's call, but did not return. Satpute later allegedly found him hanging from a tree with a scarf and informed his cousin, who dialled the police emergency number 112.Hingoli superintendent of police Nilabh Rohan said, "Rumours circulated by some villagers claiming the death was a murder created tension, with the family initially demanding a murder case and refusing to accept the body. After the postmortem confirmed suicide, the police registered a case of abetment to suicide along with relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act."Inspector Vishnukant Gutte said Satpute was produced before a court on Monday, and has been remanded in police custody till April 23.In a parallel development, the police registered a second FIR against Balaji Devkar, Somnath Rankhamb and Nikesh Gaikwad under section 301 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for allegedly spreading rumours, obstructing the panchnama and postmortem, and delaying funeral procedures by about 22 hours.Further investigation is underway.