File Photo: CPI leader Govind Pansare being shifted to a hospital after he was shot in Kolhapur. (Press Trust of India)
A bandh was today observed in Maharashtra after a call from the Left parties to protest the murder of veteran Communist Party of India or CPI leader Govind Pansare, with Republican Party of India (Athawale) or RPI(A) leader Ramdas Athawale seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI probe into the case.
Barring Kolhapur and Solapur, the bandh received a mixed response elsewhere in the state. The Opposition Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party or NCP had declared support for the protest.
In Mumbai, Mr Athawale participated in a 'rasta roko' at suburban Chembur to support the bandh and the Left workers held a protest at Worli Naka.
Mr Athawale demanded a CBI probe into Govind Pansare's murder.
"His murder is a blot on the progressive image of Maharashtra," he said.
The Kolhapur police today announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for anyone who provides information about Mr Pansare's assailants.
The 78-year-old Communist leader's funeral was performed in his hometown Kolhapur yesterday in the presence of a large number of his friends, supporters and admirers.
Neither state Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis nor any central Left leader attended the funeral.
Mr Fadnavis said in Nashik yesterday that Mr Pansare's murder was a challenge to the system.
"It is not an attack on an individual. It is not an attack on an ideology. It is a challenge to the system," he
said.
Two motorcycle-borne assailants had shot at Mr Pansare and his wife Uma on February 16 near their residence in Kolhapur when the couple was returning from morning stroll.
Mr Pansare, who was hit by three bullets, succumbed to injuries at Breach Candy Hospital late on Friday.
Uma is presently recuperating in a Kolhapur hospital.