Sources: No proof to link Samir Gaikwad to Govind Pansare murder

Mumbai: While the alleged key accused Dr Virendra Tawade was given bail by a Kolhapur sessions court over a month ago in the February 2015 Govind Pansare murder case, Maharashtra police’s case against the other accused, Samir Gaikwad, who was the first to be arrested, is allegedly ‘weak,’ so far in terms of evidence, claimed sources familiar with the investigation. The probe has not been able to conclusively link Gaikwad with the crime so far. 

The sources pointed out that Pansare’s wife had not identified Gaikwad as one of the two alleged assailants of her husband, which weakened the case against him. According to her, the two assailants were the absconding case suspects, Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar. Her statement also scotched the prosecution’s theory that there could have been four shooters involved in the crime, which if found correct could have brought Gaikwad under the scanner for being one of them, sources said.  

According to sources, Uma had identified Pawar and Akolkar as the alleged assailants when she was shown their photographs along with photographs of 38 others. According to her, both the assailants were on a black motorcycle. According to sources, Uma allegedly did not say anything about Gaikwad.  

Gaikwad was arrested in September 2015, around seven months after the crime, on the basis of an alleged telephonic conversation he had that came under the probe’s scanner.  A court granted Gaikwad bail in June 17, 2017. The court accepted Gaikwad’s bail application on the condition that he will not enter Kolhapur district and remain present before the investigation agency every Sunday. The court also asked Gaikwad to surrender his passport. Akolkar and Pawar are on the run. The police has chargesheeted both Gaikwad and Tawade in the case.