Shinde cancels appointment of Gauri Lankesh murder accused

Facing criticism, chief minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday cancelled the appointment of Shrikant Pangarkar, an accused in the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh.

"On the orders of party leader, Eknath Shinde, if there has been any appointment of Shrikant Pangarkar to any party post in Jalna, then it has to be stopped," said a note by party general secretary Bhausaheb Chaudhari.

Senior party leader Arjun Khotkar had announced on Saturday that Pangarkar was not just inducted into the party but also would be in-charge of the Jalna assembly poll campaign.


Pangarkar, who was in the Shiv Sena earlier also, was arrested in August 2018 in the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh. He was granted bail by the Karnataka HC on September 4, 2023. Lankesh was shot dead on September 5, 2017, in Karnataka allegedly by a right-wing fringe group. Pangarkar was accused of providing firearms and vehicles that were used in the Lankesh murder.

Pangarkar is also an accused in the Nallasopara arms haul case where pistols, airguns and crude bombs were seized in 2018 from Nallasopara.