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

Mumbai journalists protest outside Mantralaya. Photo/Satej Shinde

Journalists from across Mumbai on Friday gathered at the statue of Gandhiji in Mantralaya to protest the murder of their Ratnagiri colleague Shashikant Warishe.

Warishe (48) was mowed down by an SUV allegedly driven by land dealer Pandharinath Amberkar on Monday. Warishe died in hospital the next day.

It has been alleged Amberkar, now arrested and booked for murder, 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, which took place near a petrol pump in Rajapur, some 440 kilometres from Mumbai.

Also read: Maha: PUCL demands immediate cessation of land acquisition for refinery project

The protesting journalists, who gathered at the state secretariat in the south of the metropolis at noon, sought that the trial be conducted in a fast track court and the accused be given exemplary punishment.

Participants in the protest said those involved in the killing as well as its larger conspiracy should be unravelled through a special investigation team (SIT) and the accused must be slapped with the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

Warishe's kin must be given Rs 50 lakh compensation, said Pravin Puro, secretary of Vidhimandal and Mantralaya Pratrakar Sangh, among the journalist associations that took part in Friday's protest.

Earlier, in a tweet, the Mumbai Press Club said that the journalists wearing black badges will gather at the Mahatma Gandhi statue near Mantralay to stage a silent protest against the brutal murder of Shashikant Warishe in Ratnagiri district.

"It was demanded that the Warishe Murder case be tried in a fast-track court. MCOCA should be applied to the accused, Pandharinath Amberkar, and a special public prosecutor should be appointed. Warishe family should be given a compensation of Rs. 50 lakh. #shashikantwarishe," tweeted the Club from its official twitter handle.