Mumbai: To defend the man accused of killing veteran Left leader Govind Pansare, a battery of nearly 30 lawyers arrived at a court in Maharashtra today.
Samir Gaikwad, arrested last week for Mr Pansare's murder in February, was produced in a courtroom in Kolhapur packed with members of the rightwing group Sanatan Sanstha, to which he belongs.
He was sent to custody for three days.
The police in Maharashtra and Karnataka see a pattern in the three killings. All three leaders were killed by unknown gunmen who came on a bike. They had also received threats from hardline groups because of their views on religion.
"The accused has taken oath that by 2026, there should be 'God's rule in India'," said the prosecutor.
"We fear the police will forcibly extract a confession. The police are picking up random religious conversation to prejudice the case," said defense lawyer Sanjeev Punalekar, alleging that the case was being driven by politics.
A BJP lawmaker in Goa has called it a "terror group" that must be banned by the Centre, but Chief Minister Lakshmikant Parsekar ruled it out, saying the group cannot be held responsible for one man's action.
"We wanted to ban the Sanstha under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). We sent a 1,000 page dossier to the Centre in April 2011. Banning has to be done by the Union of India," Mr Chavan told NDTV.
Maharashtra never responded or got back with any proof, said a top Congress source.
Samir Gaikwad, arrested last week for Mr Pansare's murder in February, was produced in a courtroom in Kolhapur packed with members of the rightwing group Sanatan Sanstha, to which he belongs.
He was sent to custody for three days.
The police in Maharashtra and Karnataka see a pattern in the three killings. All three leaders were killed by unknown gunmen who came on a bike. They had also received threats from hardline groups because of their views on religion.
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"The accused has taken oath that by 2026, there should be 'God's rule in India'," said the prosecutor.
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"We fear the police will forcibly extract a confession. The police are picking up random religious conversation to prejudice the case," said defense lawyer Sanjeev Punalekar, alleging that the case was being driven by politics.
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A BJP lawmaker in Goa has called it a "terror group" that must be banned by the Centre, but Chief Minister Lakshmikant Parsekar ruled it out, saying the group cannot be held responsible for one man's action.
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"We wanted to ban the Sanstha under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). We sent a 1,000 page dossier to the Centre in April 2011. Banning has to be done by the Union of India," Mr Chavan told NDTV.
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Maharashtra never responded or got back with any proof, said a top Congress source.
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