A group of Brahmins from Telangana had come to Pune and indulged in several incidents of irregular behaviour that disturbed the peace. They disobeyed the regulations and indulged in theft and rioting. On 29 August that year, thirty-five Telanga Brahmins were apprehended by a police officer on duty and shut up in a room in the chowky at Bhavani peth. Ghashiram personally did not visit the prison cell, which was in the form of a tunnel with poor ventilation. The prisoners remained in the cell for an entire day and a night and on the third morning, Manaji Phakde (a cousin of Mahadji Scindia) was passing that way, when he heard noises. He personally went to the cell and broke open the locks to find that twenty-one of the Telanga Brahmins had died. He promptly informed Nana and the Peshwa of the tragedy.