Pansare kin to seek CBI inquiry, may file petition in HC

KOLHAPUR: The family of slain Communist leader Govind Pansare plans to put up an application before the Bombay high court this week, demanding that the murder case be transferred from the special investigation team (SIT) to the CBI. Incidentally, the family had refused a CBI inquiry last year.
Sources close to the family say the arrest of Virendrasinh Tawade by the CBI in the Narendra Dabholkar murder case has prompted the move to approach the HC.The family is also upset at the case progressing at snail’s pace after the arrest of Sameer Gaikwad.
A member of Pansare’s family said that they would seek a CBI probe, saying “nothing had happened after Gaikwad’s arrest”. The family members also alleged lack of transparency in the SIT.
Pansare’s family is also upset over the transfer of investigating officers (IOs) in the case since February 2015. Ankit Goyal and S Chaitanya, both additional district police superintendents, were transferred barely after six months of being appointed IOs. Chaitanya handed over charge to Suhel Sharma but he has been on leave since the day he was appointed. In Sharma’s absence, Dinesh Bari is handling the case.
The sensitive case has been handled by relatively young officers who were in service for barely three or four years.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (MANS) on Tuesday demanded a thorough inquiry into the activities of right-wing organizations Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janajagruti Samiti in connection with the Pansare murder. A delegation from the organization met senior police officers in Kolhapur on Tuesday and demanded that the network of Sanatan Sanstha be traced in Kolhapur. The demand comes close on the heels of the arrest of Sanatan ‘sadhak’ Virendrasinh Tawade in the Dabholkar case.