Accused in journalist Gauri Lankesh murder case joins Shinde-led Sena in Jalna
Jalna, Oct 19: Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, which outraged the nation, joined Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in Jalna ahead of assembly polls.
Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Karnataka capital Bengaluru on September 5, 2017.
A probe by police in Karnataka with assistance from agencies in Maharashtra led to the arrest of several persons.
Pangarkar, a Jalna municipal councillor of the undivided Shiv Sena between 2001and 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.
He joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Friday in the presence of party leader and former state minister Arjun Khotkar.
"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," Khotkar told reporters.
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.
The seat is held by Congress' Kailash Gorantyal.
Maharashtra assembly polls will be held on November 20, while results will be declared on November 23. The term of the current assembly ends on November 26.
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NSUI lodges police complaint against Odia actor for post against Rahul Gandhi
Bhubaneswar, Oct 19: The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) lodged a police complaint against Odia actor Buddhaditya Mohanty for his controversial social media post about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
State NSUI president Udit Pradhan filed the complaint at Capital police station on Friday, demanding action against Mohanty for the post, which has now been deleted.
"In the social media post, Mohanty said that after killing NCP leader Baba Siddique, gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's next target should be Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. We cannot tolerate such a remark against our leader," said Pradhan.
Along with the complaint, he submitted to the police a screenshot of the social media post.
Police said they have received the complaint and are enquiring into it.
Apologising for his earlier post, Mohanty wrote on Facebook on Friday, "My last post regarding Rahul Gandhiji..was never to target..harm, demean him in any way..nor write anything against him..unintentionally if I affected anyone's sentiments..my intention was not this..I offer my sincere apologies..regards (sic)."
Siddique, a Congress-turned-NCP leader, was shot dead in Mumbai on October 12.
