Pansare case: Irked over probe, HC says state a 'laughing stock'
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday said the state has been reduced to a "laughing stock" by adopting elementary methods in probing rationalist Govind Pansare's killing.
A bench of Justices S C Dharmadhikari and B P Colabawalla summoned Maharashtra Home Department's additional chief secretary on March 28 to explain the cause of the slow progress made in the case.
"Let the state feel some pressure. It must face consequences some day. For most often, the police gets away. No memos are issued, no explanations sought," the bench said.
"If crimes will be probed only after the court's intervention...If in matter after matter, judiciary is the only saviour, then it is a tragedy. What message are we sending to the society?" the judges asked.
They were irked after reading a progress report, submitted in a sealed cover by Maharashtra CID's Special Investigation Team (SIT), in the Pansare case.
As per the judges' observations made in an open court, the SIT submitted, among other things, that in order to trace two absconding accused persons in the case, it questioned their relatives.
It also submitted that one of the absconding accused owned an immovable property in the state and, therefore, the SIT visited the place to trace his whereabouts.
The bench, however, said the SIT must realise that after four years since the crime was committed, it was unlikely the accused would stay somewhere within the state, or close to the crime spot.
"What stops them from going and hiding anywhere across the country? Merely because someone owns a property doesn't mean he will stick around in that area. The accused can seek shelter anywhere in the country. The elementary steps you are taking to nab the accused have reduced you to a laughing stock," the bench said.
"Because of you, the public has a perception that some people can get away, remain uninvestigated only because they enjoy a certain patronage," it said.
It said a "progressive state" such as Maharashtra must feel proud of its thinkers and rationalists.
"The state can't be a silent spectator. This is not a movie that you (police, probe agencies) come after everything is over. And if you (politicians) can't protect your people, then do not contest elections," the bench said.
The bench also directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the 2013 killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, to "tie-up all lose ends" in its investigation without further delay.
The CBI submitted before the HC on Thursday that while the shooters in the Dabholkar case were traced, arrested and the charge sheet was filed, it required some time to probe some additional issues, like arms and weapons used by the accused.
Pansare was shot at on February 16, 2015, in Kolhapur and succumbed to his injuries a few days later on February 20.
Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013, in Pune while on his morning walk.
The CBI and the state CID are probing the killings of Dabholkar and Pansare, respectively.
The high court has been hearing a plea filed by the family members of Dabholkar and Pansare seeking a court- monitored probe in both the cases.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
