Bombay HC grants bail to 6 accused in Govind Pansare murder case

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to six persons accused in the 2015 murder of Communist Party of India leader Govind Pansare, reported Bar and Bench.

Justice Anil Kilor approved bail for Sachin Andure, Ganesh Miskin, Amit Degvekar, Amit Baddi, Bharat Kurane and Vasudev Suryavanshi, citing their prolonged incarceration, the presence of over 250 witnesses in the case and the trial’s slow progress.

Govind Pansare, a rationalist, was shot by two unidentified gunmen on his way home from a morning walk in Kolhapur on February 16, 2015. He died four days later.

Smita Pansare, his daughter, later moved the High Court about the investigating agency’s slow progress in the case. She argued that the murders of her father and other prominent activists – Narendra Dabholkar, MM Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh – were interlinked and possibly orchestrated by a common entity. She claimed they were targeted for opposing right-wing ideologies.

Earlier this month, the High Court halted the judicial monitoring of the investigation in Pansare’s case.

Initially, the investigation was handled by a Special Investigation Team of the Maharashtra Police’s Crime Investigation Department. In August 2022, the High Court transferred the case to the Anti-Terrorism Squad to expedite the probe.

In 2024, the Maharashtra government’s petition to cancel the bail of Samir Gaikwad, another person…

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