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Gauri Lankesh murder accused joins Shiv Sena ahead of Maharashtra elections
Shrikant Pangarkar, a Jalna municipal councillor of the undivided Shiv Sena between 2001 and 2006, was arrested in August 2018
Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the 2017 killing of journalist Gauri Lankesh, joined the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra's Jalna.
Pangarkar joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Friday in the presence of party leader and former state minister Arjun Khotkar, PTI reported.
"Pangarkar is a former Shiv Sainik and has returned to the party. He has been nominated as the chief of the Jalna assembly poll campaign," PTI quoted Khotkar as saying.
Khotkar also said he wants to contest the assembly poll from Jalna, but added seat sharing discussions in the Mahayuti (ruling alliance comprising Shiv Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP) were still underway.
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Shrikant Pangarkar's role in Gauri Lankesh murder
On September 5, 2017, Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru.
According to a Times of India report, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the journalist-activist's murder had pointed to Pangarkar being the senior associate of prime suspect Amol Kale.
The SIT said Kale revealed that orders to kill Gauri Lankesh were issued by Maharashtra-based men. According to the TOI report, investigations revealed that Pangarkar was in touch with Amol Kale before and after Lankesh's murder.
Pangarkar, a Jalna municipal councillor of the undivided Shiv Sena between 2001 and 2006, was arrested in August 2018 and was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on September 4 this year.
After he was denied a ticket by the Shiv Sena in 2011, Pangarkar joined the right-wing Hindu Janjagruti Samiti.
In August this year, the Bombay high court granted bail to Pangarkar and four co-accused in connection with a 2018 arms haul case and for allegedly conspiring to attack the Sunburn festival in Pune, citing prima facie insufficient evidence to prove the conspiracy charge.
The accused have been booked under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Indian Penal Code (IPC), Explosives Act and Explosive Substances Act.
(With agency inputs)
