Former minister’s cousin shot dead

Pawanraje Nimbalkar, cousin of former irrigation minister Padamsinh Patil, and his driver were shot dead near Kalamboli Circle in Panvel, around 60km from Mumbai, on Saturday afternoon.

Sub-inspector Giridhar Gore said Nimbalkar was travelling in his car towards the Express Highway when the assailants opened fire. Two bullets were fired. One killed Nimbalkar and the other, his driver, Samad Qazi. Both died on the spot.

The motive behind the murder was not clear.

An investigating officer said empty cartridges recovered from the scene indicated that the assailants might have used 9mm pistol. “Financial rivalry could have triggered the attack. His (Nimbalkar’s) name figured in many cheating cases, including the multi-crore Home Trade scam,” the officer said.

In August 2002, the police had arrested Nimbalkar. He was also sacked as chairman of the Osmanabad District Central Cooperative Bank (ODCCB) for his alleged complicity in the Home Trade scam that rocked Maharashtra’s cooperative sector.

Nimbalkar had tried his luck in politics when he contested against his uncle in the 2004 Assembly elections from the Osmanabad constituency. He lost by a small margin.