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🇮🇳 India /Crime & Justice

20-year-old murder case acquittal may have influenced Shiv Sena UBT crisis

From Hindustan Times · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Shiv Sena (UBT) faces potential rebellion from six Lok Sabha MPs, with unrest linked to a 20-year-old murder case.
  • The case involves Pawanraje Nimbalkar, father of one of the alleged rebel MPs, Om Raje Nimbalkar, and his cousin Padmasinh Bajirao Patil.
  • All nine accused, including Patil, were recently acquitted by a special CBI court, potentially influencing the current political narrative.

Speculation of a rebellion within Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) party has intensified after a meeting of its Lok Sabha MPs. The potential split, involving six MPs expected to support the rival Sena faction, is reportedly linked to the lingering political fallout from a 20-year-old murder case.

Six MPs – Sanjay Dina Patil, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Om Raje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Deshmukh and Sanjay Jadhav – are expected to split from the party and support the rival Sena, part of the NDA bloc.

— SourceDetails about the potential rebellion within Shiv Sena (UBT).

The MPs in question – Sanjay Dina Patil, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Om Raje Nimbalkar, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Deshmukh, and Sanjay Jadhav – notably skipped the party's 60th foundation day event, where Thackeray criticized the alleged rebels.

Pawanraje Nimbalkar was murdered on June 3, 2006 along with his driver, Samad Abdul Wahid Kazi, while driving from Pune to Mumbai.

— SourceInformation about the 2006 murder case.

The murder case that has resurfaced involves Pawanraje Nimbalkar, a Congress leader and the father of Om Raje Nimbalkar, an MP from Osmanabad. Pawanraje Nimbalkar was murdered in 2006 along with his driver. Among the accused was his first cousin and former Maharashtra home minister, Padmasinh Bajirao Patil. The case had been a significant factor in Osmanabad's politics for two decades.

Earlier in Saturday (June 20), all nine accused, including Patil, were acquitted by a special CBI court.

— SourceThe outcome of the 20-year-old murder trial.

Earlier this month, a special CBI court acquitted all nine accused, including Padmasinh Patil, citing insufficient evidence. The court's decision comes twenty years after the murder and may have provided a catalyst for the current political maneuvering within the Shiv Sena (UBT). The rivalry between Pawanraje Nimbalkar and Padmasinh Patil extended beyond politics into business, with allegations of financial impropriety, including misuse of funds collected for Kargil war martyrs' families, also surfacing during the investigation.

The murder case was interlinked with the politics of Osmanabad in Marathwada and dominated political discourse through the last 20 years.

— SourceThe historical political significance of the murder case.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hindustan Times in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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