Govind Pansare murder: Bombay High Court grants bail to 6 accused citing long incarceration

The tribunal said the bail plea of different accused, Virendrasingh Tawade, would beryllium separately heard successful owed course.

A single-judge seat of Justice Anil S Kilor concluded proceeding connected the bail pleas connected December 12, 2024, and reserved the verdict.

Dr Megha Pansare, daughter-in-law of the deceased activist, had filed involution applications opposing their bail pleas.

Pansare, an activistic and Communist Party of India, and his woman were changeable portion connected a greeting locomotion connected February 16, 2015, successful Kolhapur. While his woman survived the attack, the CPI person died astatine a Mumbai infirmary 4 days later.

On January 2, different seat of the precocious tribunal disposed of a plea filed by Megha Pansare and the CPI leader’s girl Smita Pansare, who sought a court-monitored probe into his killing. The tribunal said the investigation did not necessitate further monitoring by it and directed the Kolhapur tribunal to expedite the trial.

In August 2022, the tribunal transferred the probe to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) from the Special Investigation Team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police.

The ATS had identified 12 accused, of which charges person been framed against 10–the 7 bail applicants arsenic good arsenic Sameer Gaikwad, Amol Kale and Sharad Kalaskar–for murder, effort to execution and transgression conspiracy nether the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Arms Act.

The Kolhapur tribunal has declared alleged shooters Vinay Pawar and Sarang Akolkar arsenic absconding successful the case.

The accused are linked to a extremist right-wing outfit called Sanatan Sanstha and its affiliates, according to the ATS.

Tawade, Kalaskar and Andure were besides named successful the 2013 execution of anti-superstition activistic Dr Narendra Dabholkar. Most of the accused successful the Pansare execution lawsuit are besides charged successful the 2015 execution of Kannada student M M Kalburgi and the 2017 execution of writer Gauri Lankesh.