A Mumbai court on Saturday acquitted the eight accused in the 2006 murder of Congress politician Pawanraje Nimbalkar and his driver Samad Abdul Wahid Kazi in Navi Mumbai.
The main accused, Padmasinh Patil, is the brother of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar and cousin to the victim.
The other acquitted persons include Latur-based businessman Satish Mandade, former Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation councillor Mohan Shukla, Parasmal Badala (Jain), alleged shooters Dinesh Tiwari and Pintusingh Chaudhary, BSP worker Kailash Yadav from Baskhari in Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar district, his close aide Gyanendra Pande, and former State Excise officer Shashikant Kulkarni.
The court said that it found insufficient evidence to convict them of the crime.
Pawanraje and his driver, Samad Kazi, were shot dead on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway on June 3, 2006.
How is the case related to the Shiv Sena split?
The verdict in the 20-year-old murder case is set to have a crucial role in the emerging split in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).
Omraje Nimbalkar, who is the son of the Pawanrje Nimbalkar, skipped a meeting along with five other MPs called by the UBT in Delhi on Thursday.
Omraje was, until recently, known to be a loyalist of the Thackeray party.
According to speculations, the rebel Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction is reportedly trying to poach representatives from the UBT in an ‘Operation Tiger’.
UBT spokesperson Sanjay Raut, who is at the centre of the ongoing political crisis, said in a press conference in Delhi that Omraje was reportedly promised that all nine of the accused would be convicted for the murder. Raut said that the rebel faction gave Nimbalkar an ultimatum. To get a favourable verdict in the court, he has to join the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Nimbalker will be expected to clear his stance as the verdict is now pronounced.
Earlier, Nimbalkar had said that he was in a crisis emotionally and politically. “I am in a big religious crisis right now. From an emotional point of view, this step seems wrong, but from a political point of view, it is right. There is a lot of pressure on me from party workers to join the Shinde Sena (Shiv Sena-Shinde group)," Nimbalkar had said.
“If you can’t do people’s work despite having loyalty to the party, then how do you go to the people? After all, how long will I walk around with dry hands? So now I have no other option," Nimbalkar said in an interview to ‘Dainik Divya Marathi’.
“I am currently in Pune. The verdict in my father’s (Pawanraje Nimbalkar) murder case will be announced on June 20. After the results are out, I will go directly to my constituency, have a detailed discussion with the party workers and only then take the next official decision," he said.
He also denied allegations that he received money and said that his decision would be in the interest of pending development work in his constituency.
The entire rivalry and case itself is a family matter.
Omraje’s cousin Ranajagjitsinha Patil (Rana Patil), who is also his chief political rival, is a BJP MLA.
Rana Patil is also the son of the main accused in the murder, former NCP minister Dr Padmasinh Patil.
Patil and Pawanraje Nimbalkar are first cousins and contested the assembly elections against each other in 2004.
After the death of Nimbalkar, Patil was arrested by the CBI for masterminding the contract killing for political enmity.
Rana Patil is also the nephew of Sunetra Pawar, the Deputy Chief Minister, since Padmasinh Patil is her stepbrother.
The court's verdict has led to all eyes being on Omraje, who said that he would decide to defect or not, after consulting with party members in his constituency.
He said that he would decide in two days after the verdict.
If Omraje withdraws himself from the defecting list of MPs who plan to move to the Shinde Shiv Sena, the group will not reach the mandatory two-thirds majority that is required to evade defection penalties.
Eknath Shinde said that he and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis would approach the High Court and make an appeal against the judgment, which he described as a "highly unfortunate incident".
"CM Fadnavis and I have spoken with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and he has said that the CBI will approach the High Court and make an appeal against the judgment, and fight the case," he said in a statement to ANI.
