Pawanraje Nimbalkar Murder Case: Ex-NCP Leader Padamsinh Patil, All Other Accused Acquitted After Legal Battle For 2 Decades

Mumbai: In the Pawanraje Nimbalkar murder case, special judge Satyanarayan Navandar, on Saturday, acquitted all the eight accused – Dr Padmasinh Bajirao Patil, Satish Mandade, Mohan Shukla, Parasmal Jain (approver), Dinesh Tiwari, Mahatam Chaudhary alias Pintu Singh, Kailash Yadav, Gyanendra Pandey alias Chhote Pandey and Shashikant Kulkarni.

The court held that the prosecution’s key evidence – the testimony of an approver – was unreliable and insufficiently corroborated. It said the prosecution failed to produce satisfactory evidence linking the accused to the planning, execution, financing or aftermath of the murder. Several witnesses did not support the case, while important circumstances remained unproved.

According to the court, the prosecution case rested largely on the approver’s testimony and confessional statements, supported by witness accounts and documents. However, the approver gave varying and inconsistent versions that appeared tailored to his position at different stages or to the prosecution’s evolving case.

The prosecution had also relied on circumstantial evidence, including the approver’s stay at different places, call records, seizure of a car and firearms. The court found that these circumstances did not support his contradictory testimony. It said there was no independent evidence establishing Patil’s involvement or proving that the other accused had conspired to commit the murder

On the alleged motive of political rivalry, the court noted that evidence from the deceased’s wife and son showed strained relations with Patil. However, it said motive alone could not establish conspiracy or participation in the offence.

The court also flagged serious lapses in the initial investigation by the state police before the case was transferred to the CBI on October 23, 2008. It said crucial scientific, documentary, electronic and corroborative evidence was either not collected or not produced, and the deficiencies could not be overcome through blind reliance on an unreliable approver.

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