Govind Pansare murder probe trundling on without a clue

Even though veteran CPI leader Govind Pansare's gunning down is being compared to that of anti-superstition crusader Narendra Dabholkar, the investigating agencies and the state government have lost hope that they would get any clue in the murder of the anti-toll activist.

A senior leader revealed that even after the motorcycle allegedly used by the gunmen has been found, there is no sign that the investigation would make enough headway to lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of the crime.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home department portfolio, is reviewing the progress in the investigation on a daily basis and his deputy Dr Ranjeet Patil is doing the same, holding meetings with senior police officials on a regular basis.

With the investigation in the Pansare case going exactly along the bleak lines of the Dabholkar case, the state government is considering training recruits and inductees in forensic and cyber crime investigations.

The government is also mulling over introducing ways to collect evidence from crime spots with more caution, and give related training to its officials so as not to corrupt the crime scene and lose vital evidence. Highly placed officials revealed the state was trying its best to crack the Pansare case, but its feeling frustrated after reviewing the case's progress report. The investigating teams are also probing angles other than the popular theory of that 'right-wing or communal' perpetrators were involved in the assassination.