MUMBAI: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged murder of journalist Shashikant Warishe. The journalist was based in Rajapur in Ratnagiri district and is survived by his mother, wife, and 19-year-old son.
Warishe, 48, was mowed down on February 7 by an SUV that dragged him to some distance from a petrol filling station. The accused, Pandarinath Amberkar, a property dealer, has been arrested and remanded in judicial custody till February 14.
Locals allege that Warishe was done to death for writing articles in local papers against Amberkar, also a supporter of the proposed Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd at Barsu refinery. The project is being opposed over pollution concerns in the Konkan region. He had fled after the incident.
Warishe was associated with local Marathi daily Mahanagari Times. The locals say Warishe’s had recently written an article against Amberkar titled ‘Photo of a criminal alongside PM, CM and DCM’ in which he wrote about resentment among local farmers against the refinery. The police registered a case under Section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) only after pressure from journalists and public outcry.