The family members of slain Communist leader Govind Pansare are not satisfied with the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) investigation into his murder.
The family members of slain Communist leader Govind Pansare are not satisfied with the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) investigation into his murder. The family has claimed that SIT officials, who have questioned more than 5,000 people in the case, have not been able to find the main accused. The family is waiting for chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s reply to its letter requesting that the Pansare case be handed over to the CBI. Anti-superstition activists on Monday will protest against the slow investigation into the murder cases of Pansare and Dabholkar.
Megha Pansare, the Communist leader’s daughter-in-law, said, “ The investigation is not progressing. It’s been one and half years, but the SIT still can’t uncover any clues about murderer in the case. It has arrested Samir Gaikwad, but could not collect proper evidence that pins him as the murderer of my father-in-law.”
She added, “The CBI has arrested Virendra Tawade in the Dabholkar murder case. According to CBI officials, he was involved in three murders including Pansare’s, so SIT is now awaiting his custody, but I think nothing will happen beyond that. Tawade’s arrest is important; he is connected to three cases and if the case is transferred to the CBI, it would be easier to nab the accused, rather than just sending him to every individual investigation agency for interrogation. It has been observed that the SIT has completely stopped functioning for quite a few months. We were forced to approach the high court for monitoring the investigation, as its progress was very slow. The way it has been working shows that there is no seriousness in the investigation. ”
However, speaking about the case, an SIT official said, “Our team has questioned more than five thousand people in the case. We were the first to arrest Gaikwad, who is responsible for the murder. Our team is working very hard every day and will continue to do so until we have the case.”
Anti-superstition activists will protest on Monday against the slow investigation. They are demanding that photos of the accused in the case should be put on every government website and police station in Maharashtra. They also demanded an inquiry against advocate Sanjiv Punalekar, as he had been In contact with the accused, and that Sanatan Sanstha be banned.
Pansare passed away on February 20, 2015 in Kolhapur after a motorcycle-borne man shot at his wife and him while they were taking a walk.
