Gauri Lankesh and Shrikant Pangarkar
Credit: Facebook and X/@ShriPangarkar
Mumbai: In a surprising development, Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh and Nalasopara arms-ammunition haul case, has won the elections to the Jalna Municipal Corporation (JMC) as an independent candidate — a development that evoked strong reactions.
Pangarkar contested from Ward 13 of the JMC, where he faced the BJP, however, the Shiv Sena, led by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, which contested separately in Jalna, did not field any candidate in this seat.
Gauri Lankesh, journalist-activist, was shot dead outside her residence in Bengaluru on September, 5, 2017. She worked as an editor at Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada weekly started by her father P Lankesh, and ran her own weekly called Gauri Lankesh Patrike.
Pangarkar was granted bail by the Karnataka High Court on September 4, 2024.
It may be recalled, ahead of the Vidhan Sabha polls in October 2024, he was inducted into the Shiv Sena and nominated as chief of Jalna seat campaign. However, Shinde, who was then the Chief Minister, cancelled the appointment amid strong criticism.
Pangarkar was a municipal councillor in Jalna from 2001-06 from the undivided Shiv Sena headed by late Balasaheb Thackeray. Later, he was associated with right-wing organisations.
Pangarkar was also arrested in August 2018 by Maharashtra’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in connection with the seizure of crude bombs and weapons in Nalasopara and booked under the Explosives Act, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
As of now, he is on bail in both the cases.
As soon as he was declared elected to the JMC, his supporters started celebrations.
After he filed his nominations, he had said he had come into politics after a gap but got a good response. “I had been a councillor earlier and worked for people…now I have come again…the cases against me have nothing to do with the elections. The matter is in the court and I am before the nyay devta. The agencies might have some misunderstanding…the court will decide on it...these elections and that matter (Gauri Lankesh’s murder) have no relation…that matter is related to Karnataka. I stand before the court, and justice will be done to me because I am 100% innocent.”