Govind Pansare murder case: Unhappy with probe, slain activist's family demands the investigating officer be changed

Mumbai: The family of slain activist Govind Pansare on Friday filed an application seeking change of investigating officer in the case, even as the Bombay High Court cautioned that such requests could have a negative impact on the probe. The activist was shot and injured on 16 February, 2015, near his house in Kolhapur in western Maharashtra, and died four days later. [caption id=“attachment_2887698” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Govind Pansare. IBNLokmat[/caption] A special investigation team (SIT) of the Maharashtra police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is probing Pansare’s killing. In its application, Pansare’s family said it was not satisfied with the manner in which the investigating officer was handling the probe. A division bench of justices SC Dharmadhikari and RI Chagla, however, noted that such an application could have a negative impact and scuttle the probe. “The applicant (Pansare’s family) should realise the negative impact such an application will have. This will only scuttle the investigation. Nothing should rebound on the applicant,” the court said. The probe agency’s counsel Ashok Mundargi told the court it would file its reply to the application by 19 December. The court was hearing petitions filed by the families of Narendra Dabholkar and Pansare seeking court supervision in the probe being carried out by CID and Central Bureau of Investigation. Dabholkar, a well-known anti-superstition activist, was shot dead on 20 August, 2013 in Pune. The bench was, on Friday, informed by CBI counsel Anil Singh that the agency would require 45 more days to complete its search and recovery operation being carried out at a creek in neighbouring Thane district. The agency claims accused persons had disposed of the weapon used to kill Dabholkar in the creak. The bench gave the CBI to complete the search and recovery operation.