RTI activist murder: Accused sent to judicial custody

Three persons, including a lawyer, have been arrested in connection with the murder of RTI activist and whistle-blower Satish Shetty at Talegaon near Pune.

A court on Saturday remanded the trio, which was arrested late on Friday night, to ten days police custody till January 25. Vijay Dabhade, the lawyer, and his accomplices Pramod Waghmare and Parshuram Telegu, who were arrested for giving a contract to kill Shetty, were produced before a court at Wadgaon Maval, about 50 kms from Pune, on Saturday evening.

The prosecution told the magistrate that Dabhade had old enmity with the deceased, who had exposed the alleged unauthorised construction of his bungalow in Talegaon, and he had also tried to attack Shetty in the past.

The magistrate rejected the defence's plea for judicial custody to the accused. The prosecution, which had asked for 14 days police custody for the accused, told the court that it needed time to gather evidence against the accused, who had allegedly conspired with others to eliminate Shetty.

The police also told the court that Shetty had petitioned them to extern the lawyer and was pursuing his application against Dabhade.

In its submission, the defence contended that the accused Dabhade was being made 'a scapegoat' by police, who were acting in haste because of Mumbai high court's directive to the state government to speed up investigation into the case.

Shetty was murdered by two unidentified assailants at Talegaon, a small village about 45 kms from Pune, on January 13 while he was taking a morning walk.