Maha journo mowed down after writing about land grab; broker arrested

Journalists and the Opposition in Mumbai have demanded a probe into the death of a 48-year-old journalist on Tuesday (February 7) after he was mowed down by a Mahindra Thar SUV on Monday (February 6). The alleged driver of the vehicle, Pandharinath Amberkar, has been arrested, but journalists in Mumbai have demanded strict action because on the very day that Shashikant Warishe was killed, he had published a report in the Mahanagari Times that Amberkar was an accused in land grab cases.

Warishe, the journalist who worked for the local Marathi newspaper, Mahanagari Times, in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district, died on Tuesday after the SUV hit him at high speed outside a petrol pump on the Mumbai-Goa highway around 1.15 pm on Monday (February 6). An unconscious Warishe was rushed to a local hospital, but he died on Tuesday morning (February 7).

Amberkar was arrested that evening and produced before a court, which remanded him in police custody till February 14, according to Dhananjay Kulkarni, the Superintendent of Police of Ratnagiri.

On Monday morning, Warishe’s report that Amberkar was an accused in land grab cases was published in the Mahanagari Times. The report went on to say that Amberkar had a history of using force to intimidate activists and villagers who opposed the setting up of the multi-crore Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd (RRPCL) in the area.

The RRPCL is promoted by the three major public sector oil companies — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.

Also read: Locals from 20 Maharashtra villages protest against Ratnagiri oil refinery project

In the wake of the incident, The Brihanmumbai Union of Journalists issued the following statement, “The killing of the journalist, in broad daylight, comes barely hours after he published a report in the Mahanagari Times, a local newspaper, about banners with photographs of Amberkar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Amberkar, the report said, was an accused in cases of land grab and of intimidation and force against activists opposing the mega-crore refinery project in the area.”

The Mumbai Press Club tweeted as well, condemning the incident and calling for severe and immediate action.

The Maharashtra government must initiate severe and immediate action against the killers of journalist Shashikant Warishe#shashikantwarishe @CMOMaharashtra @Dev_Fadnavis pic.twitter.com/gmXYUqE6WX

— Mumbai Press Club (@mumbaipressclub) February 8, 2023

Vinayak Raut, the MP belonging to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, alleged that it was a murder and said he would write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also raise the issue in Parliament. He also alleged that Amberkar had a history of such attacks on activists who were against the refinery and that several FIRs had been registered against him.

“The death is not accidental but a clear foul play and an attack by the land broker. I will write a letter to the Prime Minister and demand a discussion on the refinery,” Raut said.

PUCL Maharashtra expressed shock at the ghastly killing of Warishe and demanded justice.

PUCL Maharashtra shocked at ghastly killing of journalist Shashikant Warishe; demands justice for his murder; immediate cessation of land acquisition for refinery project. pic.twitter.com/Yw8NlxG5lP

— PUCL India (@PUCLindia) February 8, 2023