Manmad oil racket: 'Why target my father alone?'

Almost a month after Popat Shinde, involved in the Manmad oil adulteration racket, died of burn injuries, his daughter Jaya Borse has gone on a hunger strike at Nashik district in Maharashtra demanding investigation into the links of local politicians and government officials with her father.

Maharashtra: IAS officer burnt alive by mafia

She said that though the authorities were investigating the activities of her father and his associates, the links of politicians and government officials with her father were being conveniently ignored.

She said that her father was much sought after by one and all.

To drive her point home she claimed that a local Maharashtra Navnirman Sena functionary had once visited her father with a request to be included as a partner in the oil adulteration business. Borse did not name the MNS leader.

According to Borse, the vital evidences in the case were the two mobile phones of her father that went missing since the day of the incident when additional collector Yashwant Sonawane is alleged to have been burnt to death by Shinde and others.

Borse said that the phones had details of pay-offs to government officials and persons of influence at Manmad. She demanded a probe into the assets of Sonawane.

Meanwhile, state home ministry commented that they were yet to officially receive the demands of Shinde's daughter and may consider them after examining it.

It may be recalled that on January 25, Shinde and his associates had burnt to death additional district collector Yashwant Sonawane who was filming pilferage of kerosene at Panewadi village in Manmad on his cell phone. Sonawane had then latched on to Shinde, who also suffered burn injuries. Shinde had been moved to the JJ Hospital in Mumbai where he had succumbed to injuries on January 31.