Satish Shetty Murder: Case back to square one as twists and turns fail to reach climax - Hindustan Times
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Satish Shetty Murder: Case back to square one as twists and turns fail to reach climax

Hindustan Times, Pune | By
Apr 18, 2018 11:37 PM IST

On April 16, CBI filed final report and closed case against nine persons including Virendra Mhaiskar, chairman, Ideal Road Builder

The latest report filed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) closing the case against Virendra Mhaiskar, chairman and managing director, Ideal Road Builder (IRB) and others have taken RTI activist Satish Shetty murder case back to dead end, raising questions about probe agency’s investigation.

Unidentified persons stabbed Satish Shetty, 38, to death on January 13, 2010, when he was on a morning walk near his house in Talegaon in Pune.(HT FILE PHOTO)
Unidentified persons stabbed Satish Shetty, 38, to death on January 13, 2010, when he was on a morning walk near his house in Talegaon in Pune.(HT FILE PHOTO)

This is the second time CBI has filed a closure report though previously the agency had to reopen the case as Shetty’s brother Sandeep had approached Bombay High Court.

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Disappointed over CBI’s report, Satish Shetty’s brother Sandeep said, “CBI had anyway decided to close the case back in 2014 though my petition before Bombay High Court forced them to reopen the case. The latest move makes it clear that CBI wants to protect someone.” Unidentified persons stabbed Shetty, 38, to death on January 13, 2010, when he was on a morning walk near his house in Talegaon in Pune. It was Pune police who initially probed the case and arrested a lawyer, who the police later discharged from the case in absence of evidence.

As the case looked collapsing, it was transferred to CBI, which started the investigation afresh and filed yet another FIR naming IRB officials- Ajit Kulkarni, IRB lawyer and Jayant Dangre, IRB liaison officer.As the CBI struggled to get breakthrough in the case, CBI filed a closure report in Pune court. More than 16 months later, CBI reopened the case saying it found ‘incriminating evidence’ against IRB officials during the raids conducted on company officials’ premises.

According to Sandeep, it was surprising on part of CBI to then say that agency could not find fresh evidence.“It’s clear that CBI is not honest about the investigation,” said Sandeep. Earlier in March, CBI court in Pune discharged Mhaiskar and all other IRB officials in an alleged land scam exposed by slain RTI activist Satish Shetty.

Special judge AK Patil discharged IRB officials while observing that no case is made out against suspects even to frame the charges as levelled by CBI in its charge sheet filed in December.Shetty in his complaint had alleged that land acquisition conducted by state government for Pune-Mumbai expressway was marred by discrepancies. According to Shetty, the land acquired by the government was resold to Aryan Infrastructure, an IRB sister concern.

The IRB in its letter issued to shareholders on Wednesday, however, said the allegations made against them by Shetty were to harm the progress of the company. “From day one our conscience was clear that we had nothing to do with such a heinous crime, and the allegations hurled against us and the attempts to drag us in this matter, were clearly aimed to harm the progress of the company. However, I am happy to say that team IRB, undeterred with such attempts, has grown by leaps and bounds in the last 9 years and the numbers for themselves,” said Mhaiskar in his letter.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Yogesh Joshi is Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times. He covers politics, security, development and human rights from Western Maharashtra.

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