A special investigation team (SIT) will probe the alleged murder of journalist Shashikant Warishe in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district, the state government announced on Saturday. Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis said an SIT headed by a high-ranking official will probe the case. Earlier this week Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had called Warishe's murder an attack on democracy. Warishe (48) was mowed down by an SUV allegedly driven by land dealer Pandharinath Amberkar at Rajapur on February 6. Warishe died in the hospital the next day.
Amberkar allegedly used to threaten any person who opposed land acquisition for a proposed refinery in the area and an article written by Warishe against Amberkar appeared in a local Marathi newspaper on the morning of the incident.
Several hundred journalists held a protest in Rajapur city on Saturday against Warishe's murder. Activists of the Barsu Solgaon Panchakroshi Refinery Virodhi Sanghatna, which has been opposing the proposed refinery, and members of the Kunabi Samaj, a community organization, also took part in the protest. The protesters put forth the demand that the refinery project should be cancelled.
The Ratnagiri Refinery and Petrochemical project was scrapped before the 2019 polls at the instance of the Shiv Sena, the then alliance partner of the ruling BJP. The Union government had last year hinted at its revival at another location.
(With PTI inputs)
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