Suspect in Govind Pansare murder case dies in Sangli

Police said Sameer Gaikwad suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to the civil hospital, where doctors declared him dead

PUNE: Sameer Gaikwad, one of the accused in the murder of Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Govind Pansare, died in Sangli in the early hours of Tuesday, officials said.

Gaikwad was allegedly associated with the Sanatan Sanstha and was named as an accused in the 2015 murder of Govind Pansare (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Police said Gaikwad suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed to the civil hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Police said he had been unwell for the past few days. The exact cause of death will be confirmed after the post-mortem examination.

Gaikwad was allegedly associated with the Sanatan Sanstha and was named as an accused in the murder of Pansare, which took place in February 2015 in Kolhapur. Pansare and his wife Uma were shot at by two persons while returning home after a morning walk. Pansare succumbed to his injuries.

During the investigation, police identified Gaikwad’s alleged role in the case and arrested him at his residence in Sangli in September 2015.

In 2017, a court granted bail to Gaikwad, after which he was living with his family in the Vikas Chowk area of Sangli city. As part of his bail conditions, he was required to report to the local police station once a week.

Police said Gaikwad had also filed a discharge application before the court to drop him from the case, which was pending.