The 82-year-old, Govind Pansare and his wife Uma were shot by two youths near their home in Kolhapur on February 16, 2015.
A local court today extended by two more days the police custody of right wing Sanatan Sanstha activist, Samir Gaikwad, arrested in connection with the murder of rationalist leader Govind Pansare early this year.
The prosecution said police needed more time to interrogate him and sift through call data record obtained from multiple SIM cards and mobile handsets used by him.
Samir Gaikwad was nabbed from adjoining district of Sangli on September 16 by Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Maharashtra Police probing the murder case. He was sent to police custody till September 23 which was further extended by two more days. His latest remand extension will be till September 28.
Public Prosecutor in the case, Vishakha Bharte said, "We sought Samir's custody on the ground that police need a few more days to compile the voluminous data extracted from his 31 SIM cards and 23 mobile handsets... Samir claims he ran a mobile repair shop. Customers generally leave behind their cellphones for repair and not SIM cards. So how come Samir was in possession of 31 SIM cards?"
These SIM cards are registered in Mumbai, Thane, Goa, Panvel and Karnataka, among other places.
"We want to know where all the calls were made and to whom. We want all persons to be questioned in the presence of the accused and this is why we sought his additional custody which was granted," said Ms Bharte.
The prosecutor said the statement of Samir Gaikwad's accomplice, Ajay Prajapati, had been recorded as a witness before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) "to make the case watertight". A statement recorded under this section can be used during police inquiry or later during trial.
The 82-year-old and his wife Uma were shot by two youths near their home in Kolhapur on February 16, 2015. The veteran Communist leader died four days later in Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital, while his wife survived the attack.
Sanatan Sanstha, a Goa headquartered right-wing outfit, has denied any role in Pansare's killing but has admitted that Sameer Gaikwad was its worker.