Journalist in Ratnagiri mowed down after article on ‘criminal with PM, CM’
Mumbai: Shashikant Warishe, a senior journalist from Rajapur in Ratnagiri district, died on Tuesday, mowed down by a vehicle that was being driven by a person about whom Warishe had written recently.
Police said that the accused was arrested immediately, reports Indian Express.
Warishe, who was 48, is survived by his mother, wife and 19-year-old son. He was a reporter for a local Marathi newspaper and covered issues related to the setting up of the Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL) in Barsu, in spite of opposition by a section of the locals.
He had written an article, in the Mahanagari Times, ‘Photo of criminal alongside PM, CM and DCM claim farmers protesting against refinery’, on Monday. Warishe had named the man who mowed him down, identified as Pandharinath Amberkar, in the article, alleging that he was a criminal.
While Amberkar allegedly supported the setting up of the refinery, an FIR is said to have been filed against him for threatening those who opposed the factory.
Warishe was standing near a petrol pump on the Rajapur Highway on Monday, when Amberkar, who was driving an SUV, allegedly mowed the reporter down, before dragging him for several metres under the vehicle.
The locals apparently rushed to help Warishe, who was lying unconscious on the road. The journalist was taken immediately to a local hospital, but succumbed to the injuries on Tuesday morning.
Dhananjay Kulkarni, Ratnagiri SP, said that although Amberkar allegedly escaped from the spot, the police succeeded in arresting him immediately after the incident. Amberkar was also produced in court and remanded in police custody till February 14.
While the Rajapur police initially had registered a case of culpable homicide, the local activists urged the police to press murder charges of the accused.
Vinayak Raut, MP and member of the Shiv Sena (UBT faction), also alleged that it was a murder. He said that he would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that he would raise the matter in the Parliament.
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Patna-bound IndiGo flight makes emergency landing at Lucknow due to bad weather
Lucknow (PTI): Adverse weather forced an IndiGo Kolkata-Patna flight to make an emergency landing at Lucknow airport on Friday, airport sources said.
According to airport officials, weather conditions in Patna deteriorated suddenly on Friday afternoon, affecting flight operations.
IndiGo flight 6E 6917 from Kolkata, which was scheduled to land in Patna at 3.50 pm, could not land due to bad weather and kept circling in the air after failing to get clearance from air traffic control, they said.
The flight was later diverted to Lucknow and landed safely at the Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport at around 5.15 pm. There were 180 passengers and six crew members on board, officials said.
The aircraft was later allowed to depart for Patna after weather conditions improved.
