Gauri Lankesh murder accused Shrikant Pangarkar wins Jalna Civic Poll as independent
Jalna: Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, won the Jalna Municipal Corporation elections from Ward 13 as an independent candidate on Thursday. Pangarkar celebrated his victory with supporters after defeating candidates from the Bharatiya Janata Party and other parties in the ward.
The Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena did not field a candidate in Ward 13. Ahead of the November 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, Pangarkar had briefly joined the Shiv Sena, but his induction was kept in abeyance following public backlash.
Gauri Lankesh, a senior journalist and activist, was shot dead outside her residence in Bengaluru on September 5, 2017, a killing that sparked nationwide outrage and debates on freedom of expression, secularism, and political violence.
Pangarkar has a long political history in Jalna. He served as a municipal councillor between 2001 and 2006 when the Shiv Sena was undivided. After being denied a party ticket in 2011, he joined the right-wing Hindu Janjagruti Samiti.
In August 2018, Pangarkar was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in connection with the seizure of crude bombs and weapons from various parts of the state. He was booked under the Explosives Act, the Explosive Substances Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
In the Gauri Lankesh murder case, Pangarkar was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on September 4, 2024. His electoral victory has once again drawn attention to the case and the broader debate on criminal cases involving political candidates.
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Refunds to all passengers hit by disruptions from Dec 3-5 processed, IndiGo tells DGCA
Mumbai (PTI): Domestic carrier IndiGo has processed refunds to all passengers affected by flight cancellations between December 3 and 5, aviation safety regulator DGCA said on Friday.
"Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is constantly engaging with domestic carrier IndiGo with respect to refunds and compensations provided to the affected passengers due to operational disruptions from December 3-5," it said.
"IndiGo informed that all refunds for IndiGo flight cancellations during the period of December 3rd to December 5 have been fully processed and cleared to the original source of payment," DGCA said in a statement.
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Further, as an additional measure to support affected passengers, the airline has extended a "gesture of care under which two travel vouchers of Rs 5,000 each are being provided with a validity of 12 months".
Passengers are entitled to compensation as per DGCA regulations that relate to "facilities" that are to be provided to passengers by airlines due to "denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights".
Meanwhile passengers' complaints regarding non-receipt of refunds for "the hundreds of flights cancelled abruptly between December 2-9 by the airline continue pouring in on the social media.
"Hey @IndiGo6E, I received an email to submit details for a flight cancellation in Dec to get a 5K refund per flight. It's been 10+ days since I submitted everything, but still no refund. Support hasn't been helpful. Please look into this urgently," a passenger said in a post on X, with a hashtag #RefundDelay, on Friday.
"Looking to connect with lawyers who have filed or are filing lawsuits against @IndiGo6E for the recent flight disruptions. Despite severe delays/ cancellations, I still have not received my refund," said another passenger in an X post on Thursday.
On December 9, Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu had told Parliament that "IndiGo was ordered to issue refunds promptly and more than Rs 750 crore has already reached passengers".
Following the large-scale disruptions in IndiGo operations, aviation watchdog DGCA set up a four-member committee headed by Joint Director General Sanjay K Brahmane to carry out a comprehensive review and assessment of the circumstances that led to the massive flight disruptions.
"We are not taking this situation easily. We are doing an inquiry. We will take very, very strict action not only for this situation but also as an example," Union Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu had said in Rajya Sabha on December 8.
The panel submitted its report to the DGCA on December 27 last year.
And on December 30, while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Bengaluru, he said, "The report has been submitted to the ministry. We are analysing the report, taking further comments from the DGCA, and we will follow up on the action on that."
