Maha journalist murder: Accused gets judicial custody; police examine his bank account, mobile phone

Journalist Shashikant Warishe. Pic/Twitter

A court in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district remanded Pandharinath Amberkar, who is accused of killing journalist Shashikant Warishe, in 14-day judicial custody on Thursday.

Amberkar was produced before the court at Rajapur, some 440 km from Mumbai, as his five-day police custody ended on Thursday, a police official said.
Warishe (48) was mowed down by a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) allegedly driven by Amberkar, a land dealer, at Rajapur on February 6. The journalist died in a hospital the next day. Amberkar, arrested for murder, allegedly used to threaten any person who opposed land acquisition for a proposed refinery in the area. An article written by Warishe against Amberkar had appeared in a local Marathi newspaper on the morning of the incident, police have said.

An 11-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Ratnagiri Police headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police-rank officer is investigating the case. Ratnagiri Superintendent of Police is supervising the probe.

Police on Thursday requested the court that since they need to investigate various angles in the case and some technical issues, they be granted his custody. However, the court remanded Amberkar in judicial custody for 14 days.

Also read: Mumbai journalists demand Shashikant Warishe case be tried in fast-track court, seek MCOCA against accused

The preliminary investigation has revealed that Amberkar committed the crime in a fit of rage, the official said, adding it was not pre-planned.
"On the day of the incident, Amberkar was driving his car in Rajapur and he got a WhatsApp message about a news article written by Warishe. He was very angry after reading the news article against him," the official said.

After some distance, he found Warishe going on his two-wheeler in the village. In a fit of rage, Amberkar started chasing him and later mowed him down, he said.
Police are investigating various angles in the case and also trying to find out if the crime was pre-planned, he said.

"Amberkar's bank account and mobile phone details are being examined by the police to know if he had spoken to anybody on regular voice call or on app-based call system before committing the crime," the official said.

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