Malegaon officer killed by oil mafia had a record of corruption: CBI

CBI has contradicted the Maharashtra Polices probe into the murder of Yashwant Sonawane.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has contradicted the Maharashtra Polices probe into the murder of Malegaon additional collector Yashwant Sonawane in January this year. Accusing the officer of seeking bribes,it has alleged that he was killed due to past enmity.

The police had alleged that Sonawane was burnt alive by the oil mafia led by Popat Shinde after Sonawane caught them pilfering kerosene from a tanker near a dhaba on his way to Malegaon. Shinde,also injured in the incident,died days later.

But the CBI chargesheet filed today alleges that Sonawane was involved in extortion and bribery and had several cases pending against him in the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).

Story continues below this ad

The chargesheet says that Sonawane had ventured out with a motive. A senior CBI official told The Indian Express: He was murdered in an altercation that is a fact. But the fight was old. Several complaints to that effect were made to the police and the ACB department. According to our investigations,the accused had acted under a fit of rage after being fed up with Sonawanes demands.

Acting on witness statements recorded over nine months,the CBI claims that Sonawane had,in the past,demanded bribes from Shinde to release his tanker seized in such raids. This encounter too would have been of a similar nature had Shinde paid Sonawane the money. But fed up with these demands,Shinde got into an argument and doused Sonawane with kerosene and set him ablaze, the officer said.

In the chargsheet filed before the Judicial Magistrates Court in Manmad,the CBI charged Rajendra Shirsat,Machhindra Suradkar,Ajay Sonawane,Habbani Khan Rabbani,Imran Khan and Kaushik Altaf Shaikh under several sections of the Indian Penal Code for murder,attacking a government servant and conspiracy. A similar chargesheet was filed later before the Nashik Juvenile Court against Shindes minor son Kunal.

Kunal,who was actively involved in his fathers business was present at the spot and had participated in the murder, the chargesheet claims.

Story continues below this ad

The CBI also filed two sets of chargesheets under the Essential Commodities Act before the Manmad Magistrate and Nashik Juvenile court for blackmarketing and smuggling of (an) essential commodity. Though,a role has been attributed to Shinde in the case,his name had been dropped from the chargsheet, said the officer.

The accused,who were initially tried under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA),have not been charged under this Act. The Bombay High Court stayed the process. We have not investigated the case under MCOCA. Only after the HC lifts the stay,will the CBI investigate on those lines, the officer said.