HE WOULD HAVE TURNED 52 TODAY

VISITED BY SUDDEN GRIEF: Yeshwant Sonawane’s elder brother Shyam lights an incense stick in front of a photo of the additional collector in Nashik

Suspects Held For Burning Additional Collector Yeshwant Sonawane Say Personal Assistant, Driver Were On The Take

Mateen Hafeez TNN

Malegaon additional collector Yeshwant Sonawane was preparing to celebrate his 52nd birthday on January 28. His family had planned a dinner at their Nashik residence, but the local oil mafia burnt him to death in Manmad on Tuesday.

The youngest among six brothers and sisters, Sonawane was allotted official accommodation in Malegaon, while his family stayed at Welcome Apartments, General A K Vaidya Nagar, in central Nashik.

Hepreferredtostayoutof thelimelightand was too shy to celebrate his birthday but his family thought it was a good occasion for a gettogether. “While our family is spread across Nashik district, it was a good occasion for all of us to meet,” a relative said.

One of his two sons, Kunal, is a Class XI student in Pune, while his siblings are in various partsof Nashik,Krishna,Sonawane’snephew said. Sonawane came from a very poor family; while studying, he would work part-time as a salesman to support his father.

“He was very ambitious and wanted to become a good administrator,” said another relative.

Sonawane’s wife, Vijaya, a homemaker, was unaware about her husband’s death until 6 pm on Tuesday, four hours after the incident.


The Times of India, January 28, 2011