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Journalism of Courage
Shashikant Warishe, the 48-year-old journalist who was murdered in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri Tuesday, had been highlighting issues faced by local residents in connection with the setting up of the Ratnagiri refinery and petrochemicals factory in the district for the last two years, his family and associates said on Wednesday.
“He has been constantly writing about the refinery and the concerns that the villagers had about the project. He wrote extensively on the land acquisition fears of the villagers as well as the concerns of environmentalists,” Sadashiv Kerkar, the editor-in-chief of Mahanagari Times, a Mumbai-based paper, said.
Warishe died after he was mowed down in Rajapur by a vehicle allegedly being driven by Pandharinath Amberkar — a real estate dealer and a supporter of the proposed refinery — against whom he had written an article published on Monday. The immediate trigger for the murder was an article titled ‘Photo of criminal on banner alongside PM, CM and DCM claim farmers protesting against refinery’, where Warishe had alleged that Amberkar had criminal antecedents.
Warishe’s family members said they were unaware that his work would put him in harm’s way. His mother said, “He was only fighting for the locals. I don’t know what will happen to us and my grandson now. He was the sole breadwinner.”
Warishe used to reside with his mother and 19-year-old son in Kasheli village, which is 24 km from Barsu village, where the project is proposed to come up.
The Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd, promoted by three major public sector oil companies – Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd – was originally planned in Nanar village of Ratnagiri.
Activists and villages have been protesting against the refinery project in Konkan region, fearing pollution and destruction of the area, which is largely dependent on agriculture and famed for the Alphonso mango.
“He was consistently highlighting their grievances. He wrote even when we were protesting against the Nanar site. When the location was changed to Barsu, he highlighted the opposition then as well,” said Mangesh Chavan, an environmentalist.
Amid claims that Amberkar was associated with the BJP, a party leader from Konkan region said: “Pandharinath Amberkar had recently joined the BJP. He was part of the pro-refinery group that wanted to be associated with BJP. He does not hold any post.”
The Rajapur police, meanwhile, slapped murder charges against Amberkar Wednesday.
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