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Indian Express
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Gauri Lankesh murder: witness makes U turn on association with accused at arms training camps
A prosecution witness in the Gauri Lankesh murder trial who had given detailed statements to a magistrate about his participation in multiple arms training camps conducted by a right-wing Hindutva syndicate implicated in the crime turned hostile on Wednesday. The 37-year-old prosecution witness, who is involved in grassroot politics in Karnataka's Belagavi region, was declared hostile by the state special public prosecutor after he denied all the statements he had made in September 2018 under section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The witness, who had identified several people arrested for the September 5, 2017, murder of the journalist as participants in the training camps, also rejected the test identification parade he had participated in at the Bengaluru prison in November 2018 and claimed that he had identified the accused persons under police duress, prosecution sources said. During a cross-examination in the court after being declared hostile by the prosecution, the witness denied the charge that he was deviating from his earlier statements due to pressure from the accused–most of whom were granted bail last year. A chargesheet filed by a Special Investigation Team of the Karnataka police, which investigated the shooting of the 55-year-old journalist outside her home in Bengaluru, has statements by several accused people and witnesses regarding training camps where coaching was also provided in the use of arms and explosives. The SIT has arrested 17 people linked to various fringe Hindutva groups for the murder of Gauri Lankesh, which was allegedly coordinated by people formerly associated with the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, a Sanatan Sanstha affiliate, and who created a crime syndicate to target critics of Hindutva politics. The SIT filed a chargesheet in the case on November 23, 2018. Statements about the training camps recorded in the chargesheet have been given by as many as three people arrested in the case and four witnesses who were part of the camps. The witness who was declared hostile on Wednesday stated before a magistrate in 2018 about being approached by two persons—including Amol Kale, 38, a former HJS convenor and alleged chief coordinator of the right-wing crime syndicate–for participation in the training camps and recruitment of like-minded youths in Belagavi. When summoned to the witness box in the trial, the 37-year-old witness denied knowing Kale and others who were part of the syndicate's activities from 2011 to 2017. He denied receiving instructions to identify critics of Hindutva and being trained in the use of guns and explosives at multiple locations–including at two camps held in Maharashtra's Jalna and near Dharmasthala in Karnataka in 2015. The witness also denied recruiting and taking three people from Belagavi for a training camp in Jalna around January 2015, where a Belagavi man accused in the August 30, 2015, murder of the Kannada scholar Prof M M Kalburgi in Dharwad was also allegedly a participant. The witness had also mentioned the presence of as many as four external trainers at some of the camps who were experts in the use of explosives and subversion tactics. The external trainers were only identified as Bade Mahatmaji, Chote Mahatmaji or Bade Babaji and Bhai Sab and their real identities were not revealed, he stated in 2018. 'The members of this crime syndicate were continuously provided with various kinds of training in the making and usage of weapons and explosives at many places. Local members of the syndicate took up the responsibility of organising these training camps at the different locations,' the SIT stated in its chargesheet. Among those accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder and other cases who allegedly attended the training camps are Amit Degwekar, Virendra Tawade, Sharad Kalaskar, Shrikant Pangarkar, Vasudev Suryavanshi, Ganesh Miskin, Amit Baddi, Bharat Kurne, Sachin Andhure, and Praveen Chatur. Sharad Kalaskar was convicted last year in the murder of the Maharashtra rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Pune in 2013. He provided details of the training camps he attended to the CBI, which investigated the Dabholkar murder case. The witness who turned hostile this week is the third prosecution witness to turn hostile among the 183 prosecution witnesses presented in court till May 28 in the trial that began on July 4, 2022. Over 400 witnesses have been identified in the case. In August 2023, a prosecution witness from Udupi who was also identified among the people recruited by the right-wing Hindutva syndicate for extremist activities denied attending meetings and a training camp of the group. The prosecution witness had earlier given a statement to a magistrate about going to Pune for arms training at the instance of Praveen Kumar alias Sujit Kumar, an arrested recruiter for the right-wing extremist outfit linked to the murders of Gauri Lankesh and three others. Last year, a prosecution witness linked to the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti who is alleged to have loaned his Splendor motorcycle to an accused person, H L Suresh, to facilitate the recce of the home of the journalist in Bengaluru turned hostile. The witness denied association with the HJS and ownership of the bike that was still registered in his mother's name. Gauri Lankesh was killed after four bullets were fired at her outside her home by a man now identified by the SIT as Parashuram Waghmore, a former activist of the right-wing Sri Rama Sena outfit. A forensic analysis of the four empty cartridges and the four bullets fired to kill Lankesh showed that the markings on the bullets and cartridges were the same as markings found on bullets and cartridges recovered from the site of the killing of Kannada scholar and researcher M M Kalburgi in the northern Karnataka town of Dharwad on August 30, 2015. Findings from the comparison of ballistic evidence from the Lankesh and Kalburgi cases also revealed that the 7.65 mm country-made gun used in the two murders in Karnataka had also been used in the shooting of the Leftist thinker Govind Pansare, 81, in Maharashtra's Kolhapur on February 16, 2015. The ballistic evidence also indicated that one of the two guns used in the Pansare murder was used to kill the rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, 69, in Pune on August 20, 2013. The Karnataka SIT has named 17 people from right-wing Hindutva fringe outfits for the conspiracy and murder of Gauri Lankesh. The accused have been charged for murder and involvement in an organised crime activity under the Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA) 2000. 'The members of this organisation targeted persons whom they identified to be inimical to their belief and ideology. The members strictly followed the guidelines and principles mentioned in 'Kshatra Dharma Sadhana', a book published by Sanatan Sanstha,' the SIT said after it filed a 9,235-page chargesheet on November 23, 2018.
India Gazette
17-05-2025
- Sport
- India Gazette
"Happy that stands have been named after Wadekar, Rohit, Pawar, Kale": Dilip Vengsarkar hails MCA's tribute at Wankhede
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India] May 17 (ANI): The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) inaugurated four new named spaces at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, paying tribute to legendary figures associated with Mumbai and Indian cricket. The four new spaces inaugurated at the Wankhede stadium were Grand Stand Level 3: Shri Sharad Pawar Stand, Grand Stand Level 4: Ajit Wadekar Stand, and Divecha Pavilion Level 3: Rohit Sharma Stand. In a heartfelt tribute to the Late Amol Kale, the ex-president of the sport's governing body in Mumbai, the match day office at the MCA Pavilion will now be known as the MCA Office Lounge in memory of Amol Kale. Former Indian cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar, present at the ceremony, welcomed the MCA's move to honour these names that have played significant roles in Mumbai's cricketing history. 'I am happy that stands have been named after Ajit Wadekar, Rohit Sharma, Sharad Pawar, and Amol Kale,' Vengsarkar told ANI. He added, 'The history of Mumbai cricket has been very rich,' underlining the city's unmatched legacy in producing cricketing greats and contributing to the national team's success over the decades. Sharad Pawar served as President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 2005 to 2008 and as President of the International Cricket Council (ICC) from 2010 to 2012. He was also president of the Mumbai Cricket Association from October 2013 to January 2017. The 'Rohit Sharma Stand' at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, named after Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, was also unveiled. The legendary Indian batter was present at the iconic venue with the rest of his family and the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar, and Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president Ajinkya Naik. The families of Amol Kale and Ajit Wadekar also expressed deep appreciation for the tributes. While Ajit Wadekar left a legacy by leading India to its first Test series wins in the West Indies and England in 1971, and strengthening India's Test and ODI rankings; Amol Kale, in his role as the President of MCA, helped enrich the sustaining legacy of the Association. (ANI)
Hindustan Times
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
"Happy that stands have been named after Wadekar, Rohit, Pawar, Kale": Dilip Vengsarkar hails MCA's tribute at Wankhede
Mumbai [India] May 17 : The Mumbai Cricket Association inaugurated four new named spaces at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, paying tribute to legendary figures associated with Mumbai and Indian cricket. The four new spaces inaugurated at the Wankhede stadium were Grand Stand Level 3: Shri Sharad Pawar Stand, Grand Stand Level 4: Ajit Wadekar Stand, and Divecha Pavilion Level 3: Rohit Sharma Stand. In a heartfelt tribute to the Late Amol Kale, the ex-president of the sport's governing body in Mumbai, the match day office at the MCA Pavilion will now be known as the MCA Office Lounge in memory of Amol Kale. Former Indian cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar, present at the ceremony, welcomed the MCA's move to honour these names that have played significant roles in Mumbai's cricketing history. "I am happy that stands have been named after Ajit Wadekar, Rohit Sharma, Sharad Pawar, and Amol Kale," Vengsarkar told ANI. He added, "The history of Mumbai cricket has been very rich," underlining the city's unmatched legacy in producing cricketing greats and contributing to the national team's success over the decades. Sharad Pawar served as President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India from 2005 to 2008 and as President of the International Cricket Council from 2010 to 2012. He was also president of the Mumbai Cricket Association from October 2013 to January 2017. The 'Rohit Sharma Stand' at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, named after Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, was also unveiled. The legendary Indian batter was present at the iconic venue with the rest of his family and the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar, and Mumbai Cricket Association president Ajinkya Naik. The families of Amol Kale and Ajit Wadekar also expressed deep appreciation for the tributes. While Ajit Wadekar left a legacy by leading India to its first Test series wins in the West Indies and England in 1971, and strengthening India's Test and ODI rankings; Amol Kale, in his role as the President of MCA, helped enrich the sustaining legacy of the Association.
Hindustan Times
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Pune student held for obscene texts, calls to minister
MUMBAI: A 24-year-old student from Pune has been arrested for sending inappropriate text messages and making repeated phone calls to a woman BJP minister. The Maharashtra Cyber Police arrested Amol Kale and charged him under Section 78 (stalking) and Section 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) and the Information Technology Act, 2000. Kale was arrested on a complaint filed by BJP officer bearer, Nikhil Bhamre, who had approached the Maharashtra cyber police two days ago. Police traced the caller to Bhosari in Pune. The local police finally picked up Kale, who hails from Beed district. He was taken into custody on Thursday, brought to Mumbai, and been remanded to police custody till Friday. Police said Kale had allegedly been stalking the minister for the last few days, by making repeated phone calls and sending her offensive messages, said a police officer. Kale has confessed to making the calls and police have also found the messages he allegedly sent the minister in his mobile phone. Police are yet to figure out why Kale was harassing and stalking the minister, said the officer.
