11 held for killing Malegaon Addl Collector

While the main accused,Popat,was admitted to J J Hospital,Mumbai,after he suffered 70 per cent burn injuries,six others were produced in Manmad magistrates court by Wednesday afternoon. Shindes son Kunal (19),who was reported missing till late evening,was later picked up from Shirdi. Based on the number plate,the police also tracked down the driver and cleaner of the tanker which was involved in pilferage. The police got the details of the tankers number plate from the mobile video recording done by Sonawane. The last accused,Ajay Sonawane,a relative of Shinde,was arrested late on Wednesday night.

Earlier,Public Prosecutor Ajay Misar informed the court that Sonawane had stopped the vehicle on the way back from an official visit to Panewadi,after he spotted some suspicious activity behind a dhaba. The administration ruled out any planned raid as Nandgaon Tehsildar Sunil Gade had said that Sonawane had called him around 1 pm,saying that he was coming to Nandgaon on a routine visit.

According to the FIR,the incident is believed to have happened after 1 pm. After stopping the vehicle,he moved to the backyard of non-functional Sagar Dhaba where he suspected some pilferage was in progress as some men were seen tickering around the valve of a parked kerosene tanker. At this moment,only some staff of the dhaba were present,who scooted off. Sonawane made a few calls to some officials and was busy recording the video clip when two men riding a bike came to the spot. Sonawanes driver Kailas Gawli and his personal assistant Raju Kale,who have been made prime eyewitness,identified the men as Popat and Kunal. According to their statement,a scuffle broke between Popat and Sonawane,after which the accused hit the Additional Collector with an iron rod. Soon more members of Shinde family and accomplices joined them in beating Sonawane. His driver and personal assistant left the scene with the Additional Collectors official car to the nearest police station. When the police arrived at the scene,they found the burnt body of Sonawane and an empty container with a capacity 20 litre kerosene. Sources said that during investigation it was revealed that Kunal and another accused,Rajendra Shirsat,tried to save Popat by taking him to a local hospital on a bike.

The investigation stated that Sonawane had tried to get up after he was hit by an iron rod. He later jumped onto the main accused,as he was burnt,because of which Popat also caught fire.

Popats condition is critical,the doctors said. The doctors said that hes been unable to talk. Since 5 am the Nashik Police have been standing vigil at the plastic and burns ward,which has been cordoned off for visitors. He is critical and has suffered 70 per cent burns,both superficial and deep burns. He has also suffered respiratory burns. He is not on ventilator but on oxygen support, said Dr T P Lahane,the Dean of J J Hospital.

According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Ramadhan Pawar,Popat is a known history sheeter in pilferage cases. We are probing the sequence of the incidents that took place leading to the crime. Every remote incident connected to this murder is being investigated.

A forensic team from Nashik arrived at the scene on Wednesday to collect earth samples and also to check the pilferage samples.

The Republic Day flag hoisting,which was scheduled to be done by Sonawane was cut short,the parade cancelled,and a condolence silence observed. In Nashik,barely an hour after the official flag hoisting,his family gathered at the Ganga ghat crematorium ground to collect his ashes. The local administration in Nashik took out a silent rally condemning the attack.

The other accused in this case include Popats son Vicky (20),Machindra Suradkar (40),Sitaram Balerao (36),Deepak Bhorse (30),Tousif Sheikh (20).