Sunetra brother among accused, 2006 Cong neta murder case verdict likely on June 20

Mumbai: A special court is likely to deliver its verdict on Saturday in the 2006 double murder of Congress leader Pavanraje Nimbalkar and his driver, Samad Kazi. The matter, originally posted for judgment on Tuesday, was adjourned as the special judge was still dictating it.

The case involves nine accused, including deputy CM Sunetra Pawar’s brother Padamsinh Patil.Patil (86), also a senior NCP functionary and former state minister, is alleged to have orchestrated the murder of Nimbalkar, his cousin, due to political and business rivalries.There are seven others standing trial. All accused, barring one, are out on bail and were in court on Tuesday. Patil arrived on a wheelchair; an ambulance waited outside.

Another accused had turned approver and deposed as a prosecution witness.While 128 witnesses deposed during the trial, 29 among them were declared hostile. CBI’s special public prosecutor Ejaz Khan cited the consistency of the approver’s account, statements of several other witnesses and supporting documentary evidence to seek the accused’s conviction.Nimbalkar was shot dead in his car on Mumbai-Pune expressway on June 3, 2006.

The prosecution attributed the motive to his opposition to the management of Terna Sugar Factory and him contesting against Patil in the 2004 assembly elections. It alleged that Patil engaged associates to facilitate the contract killing, specifically citing financial mismanagement and misappropriation of funds at the sugar factory as a central point of conflict.Kalamboli police in Navi Mumbai initially filed an FIR against unknown persons.

The probe was subsequently transferred to the Navi Mumbai crime branch. Nimbalkar’s wife, Anandibai, however, filed a writ petition in Bombay HC seeking an independent probe, citing a history of political rivalry and previous assaults involving her husband and Patil. HC transferred the investigation to CBI in 2008, noting that the state police’s probe was “desultory and lackadaisical”.

The trial was moved from the Alibaug sessions court to the city sessions court on Supreme Court’s order following a petition by Anandibai alleging that Patil was exerting undue influence over the proceedings.A key component of the prosecution’s case was the deposition of the approver, Parasmal Jain, who is alleged to have initially accepted the contract for the murder. Jain said he was recruited by two co-accused facing trial, both alleged associates of Patil, to coordinate the hit. He gave details on the recruitment of shooters from UP, the purchase of a vehicle under an alias, and the tracking of Nimbalkar’s movements leading up to the murder.The investigation also relied on forensic reports, ballistic evidence linking the weapons used to the crime scene, and call detail records that tracked communication between the accused.Anandibai and son Omprakash also deposed on longstanding threats and harassment that Nimbalkar allegedly faced, including the denial of police protection and the obstruction of firearm license renewals. The prosecution presented evidence from medical officers confirming the cause of death from close-range firearm injuries as well as from administrative officials detailing financial irregularities within the sugar factory.