Prime accused in Govind Pansare murder case granted bail2Photo© thehindu.com

Prime accused in Govind Pansare murder case granted bail

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MUMBAI: The Kolhapur bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to three prime accused in the 2015 murder of communist leader Govind Pansare. The single judge bench of justice Shivkumar Dige emphasised that prolonged incarceration without trial could not be justified indefinitely, and said the three arrested accused – Dr Vinrendrasinh Tawade, Sharad Kalaskar and Amol Kale – would have to furnish new sureties for availing bail.

Pansare’s murder sparked outrage and protests across Maharashtra

Kalaskar, however, will not come out of jail, as he has been convicted in the 2013 murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar.

Pansare, a veteran Communist Party of India leader, author, and social reformer, was shot by unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants near his home in Kolhapur on February 20, 2015. He succumbed to his injuries four days later, sparking outrage across Maharashtra and leading to a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).