In this case study, we consider the custodial death of Somnath Suryawanshi, a 35-year-old law student belonging to the Scheduled Caste community of Wadars, who succumbed on 15 December 2024 at a government hospital in Parbhani, Maharashtra, while in judicial custody, a few days after his arrest in relation to communal riots that ensued in response to the alleged defilement of a replica of the Constitution of India. This incident was occasioned by the recent operation of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS 2023), which came into effect on 1 July 2024, superseding the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. In a report filed before the MSHRC, it was stated in March 2025 that the police were culpable of the death of Suryawanshi. Following this, an order was passed by the Bombay High Court directing the filing of a FIR against the concerned police personnel within a period of seven days from 9 May 2025. This case study attempts to analyze, in a systematic manner, the incidents in light of the requirements set out by Chapter V of the BNSS 2023, the D.K. Basu guidelines (AIR 1997 SC 610), and Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution of India, 1950. It identifies multiple probable procedural violations and uses this case as an analytical lens to interrogate the practical effectiveness of the BNSS 2023 in restraining arbitrary police conduct. The case study demonstrates that legislative reform without robust accountability mechanisms and independent institutional oversight cannot, by itself, prevent custodial abuse in India.