Mohsin Shaikh murder: Ujjwala Pawar ‘takes over’ from Nikam as counsel

When contacted, Pawar said she had not yet received any such order from the government.

“There was no response from the government despite repeated requests by us for appointment of Salian as SPP. In the absence of an SPP, the accused were taking advantage of the situation. During the trial on July 26, following a request by us, advocate Pawar represented our case very efficiently at the Pune sessions court. So we wrote to the home secretary, urging the government to appoint her as SPP,” said Mohammed Sadiq Shaikh.

“Activists from Pune also held a meeting with the CM in Mumbai. During the meeting, the CM passed an oral order to the home secretary for the appointment of Ujjwala Pawar as SPP,” he said. “We were told there was delay in the appointment of Salian because the case report from Pune city police was awaited. The delays were hampering the case and helping the accused.”

Pune Police Commissioner Rashmi Shukla said the case report had been forwarded to the home secretary two days ago.

Activist Azar Tamboli from Pune, who was present during the meeting with the CM, said, “We submitted an application for appointment of Pawar as SPP. The CM wrote ‘approved’ on the application and gave an oral order to his home secretary. The written order is expected soon.”

Solapur resident Mohsin was working as an engineer in a private firm in Pune. He was killed during communal clashes in 2014. Police had detained 21 HRS activists for the murder. Advocate Ujjwal Nikam was appointed as SPP on a request by Moshin’s family. But the government cancelled his appointment on May 19.