The Shiv Sena, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Eknath Shinde, has stayed the appointment of Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, to any post in the party in Jalna district, reported news agency PTI.

Ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls, the accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, joined the Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Friday in the presence of party leader and former state minister Arjun Khotkar.

According to PTI, Khotkar earlier said that Pangarkar, a former Shiv Sainik, has returned to the party and has been nominated as the chief of the Jalna assembly poll campaign.

A statement from the Shiv Sena on Sunday, October 20, said that if Pangarkar has been given any party post in Jalna district, the decision has been stayed.