Comrade Pansare murder: Bombay HC grants bail to prime accused Dr Virendrasinh Tawde

Mumbai: More than 10 years after veteran Communist leader, activist and rationalist Govind Pansare was shot dead, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to the prime accused Dr Virendrasinh Tawde, an ENT surgeon.

Two other accused in the case Sharad Kalaskar and Amol Kale too secured bail.

Popularly known as Comrade Pansare, the 82-year-old rationalist, trade unionist, social activist and leader of Communist Party of India and his wife, Uma were attacked by two motor-cycle borne youths on 16 February, 2015, when they opened fire near the couple’s home in the Samrat Nagar area of Kolhapur.

Pansare died four days later on 20 February, 2015, at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai.

While Dr Tawde and Kale will walk out of the prison, Kalaskar who was convicted in the August 20, 2013, murder case of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune, will continue to be behind bars.

Dr Tawde was granted bail by the Kolhapur circuit bench of the Bombay High Court. Justice Shivkumar Dige orally pronounced the decision to grant them bail.

“Applications are allowed, detailed order will be passed later,” the judge noted.

The investigation was initially conducted by Rajarampuri Police Station, Kolhapur and thereafter transferred to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) but later transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Squad in 2022.

Of the 12 accused identified, nine have so far been arrested, and four supplementary chargesheets have been filed. The trial against these nine accused is on. Two shooters are still absconding.

In January this year, six other accused - Sachin Andure, Ganesh Miskin, Amit Degvekar, Amit Baddi, Bharat Kurane and Vasudev Suryavanshi - were granted bail on the grounds of long incarceration and the fact that the trial is not likely to be completed in the near future.