Govind Pansare murder case: Virendra Tawde remanded in judicial custody

A magistrate's court on Friday remanded Virendra Tawde arrested in the CPI leader Govind Pansare murder case, in judicial custody.

The special investigation team of Kolhapur police had taken Tawde in custody on September 3. He was produced before the magistrate U B Kalpagar after his police custody ended. As police did not demand further custody, the court remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days. He would now be transferred to Yerawada jail in Pune.

Tawde, a member of the conservative Hindu organisation Sanatan Sanstha, was first arrested by CBI in the Narendra Dabholkar murder case. On September 3, Kolhapur police took his custody for the probe in the Pansare murder case. Police had carried out searches at Sanatan Sanstha's 'ashram' at Panvel near Mumbai and claimed to have found some drugs which could affect the nervous system.

According to police, Vinay Pawar, an absconding accused who CBI has said was the shooter in the Dabholkar murder case, was a suspect in this case too.

Police have already arrested Sameer Gaikwad, a Sanatan Sanstha 'disciple', in the Pansare case. Pansare, a CPI leader and rationalist, and his wife were shot while on morning walk in Kolhapur on February 16, 2015. He died four days later while his wife survived.