Kolhapur Police has released sketches of suspects in Govind Pansare's killing
The Kolhapur Police have released two sketches believed to be the killers of activist Govind Pansare. The veteran communist leader was shot dead on February 16 this year while he was on his morning walk in Kolhapur, Maharashtra.
According to the sketches, both the suspects sport a beard and are wearing caps. An additional sketch of one of the suspects without a beard has also been released.
The police have also released CCTV images of the day from where these sketches have been developed. The CCTV image show wide angle of roads on which the bike borne suspects are seen.
Additional Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Sanjay Kumar said, "We are releasing these sketches as we believe these are the suspects and we want the public to come forward and help information about them".
Last month Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had said, "The probe moving in the right direction and the police working on leads. The culprits will be caught."
Initially, the CCTV images the police had got, was unclear. They were sent for enhancement so that sketches could be prepared from the images. Based on the results of the enhanced footage and Govind Pansare's wife's description, the sketches have been created today.
Mr Pansare, had been agitating against toll tax among other issues, was shot dead by bike borne assailants while he was on his morning walk with his wife. The police suspect a country made revolver was used for the attack. He died of multiple bullet wounds in the neck, armpit and right leg, at Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital where he was airlifted for treatment.
The spot where the shooting took place is a quiet, residential area and no CCTVs were placed there, the police said. There was no eye-witness to the shooting either, but CCTV cameras from nearby areas had picked up images of the bike borne suspects.
Mr. Pansare was the third activist to be shot while out on a morning walk in the Maharashtra. In August 2013, anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar had been shot dead, another activist Satish Shetty was killed in 2010 in Pune.