7 months ago
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The Kolhapur Bench of the Bombay High Court connected Tuesday (October 14, 2025) granted bail to 3 men accused successful the 2015 sidesplitting of rationalist and writer Govind Pansare, including alleged mastermind Dr. Virendrasinh Tawade. Justice S.G. Dige besides extended bail to Amol Kale and Sharad Kalaskar. Order of the judgement is awaited.
While Tawade and Kale are expected to locomotion free, Kalaskar volition stay successful custody arsenic helium is already serving a condemnation for his relation successful the 2013 execution of activistic Narendra Dabholkar.
His entreaty against that condemnation is pending earlier the High Court. Justice Dige said the elaborate reasoning for granting bail would beryllium issued aboriginal and declined a petition from Pansare’s household to enactment the order.
Pansare, a salient leftist thinker and writer of ‘Who Was Shivaji?’, was changeable connected February 16, 2015, portion returning from a greeting locomotion with his woman successful Kolhapur’s Samrat Nagar area. Two unidentified assailants connected a motorcycle opened fire, critically injuring him. He succumbed to his injuries 4 days later, sparking outrage crossed Maharashtra and beyond.
The probe into his sidesplitting has been marked by delays and aggregate transfers. Initially handled by the section Rajarampuri police, the lawsuit was aboriginal taken implicit by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and yet transferred to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) successful 2022 aft the High Court expressed dissatisfaction implicit the deficiency of progress.
So far, 12 individuals person been named successful the case, of whom 9 person been arrested. Two suspected shooters stay absconding. Four supplementary chargesheets person been filed, but the proceedings has moved astatine a dilatory pace. Earlier this year, six different accused were granted bail connected the grounds of prolonged incarceration and the unlikelihood of the proceedings concluding soon.
The prosecution has maintained that Pansare’s sidesplitting is portion of a larger conspiracy targeting rationalists and progressive voices, linking it to the murders of Dabholkar, student M.M. Kalburgi, and writer Gauri Lankesh. Pansare’s household has consistently opposed bail for the accused, arguing that their merchandise could hamper the trial.
