Accused in Gauri Lankesh murder case rejoins Shiv Sena faction

www.mangaloretoday.com

Mumbai, October 20, 2024: Shrikant Pangarkar, a former Shiv Sainik and one of the accused in the 2017 assassination of journalist Gauri Lankesh, has officially rejoined the Shiv Sena faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Pangarkar was welcomed back into the party on Friday in Jalna by senior party leader and former state minister, Arjun Khotkar.

Khotkar confirmed Pangarkar’s return to the party fold, stating that he had been reinstated as a member and appointed head of the assembly poll campaign for the Jalna constituency. Khotkar himself has expressed interest in running for the assembly seat in Jalna, though seat-sharing negotiations within the ruling Mahayuti alliance, which includes Shiv Sena, BJP, and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction, are still ongoing.

Gauri Lankesh, a renowned journalist and outspoken critic of right-wing extremism, was shot dead outside her Bengaluru residence on September 5, 2017. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the murder identified Pangarkar as an associate of the prime suspect, Amol Kale. Pangarkar was arrested in August 2018 for his alleged involvement in the case, as evidence linked him to contact with Kale before and after the assassination.