Malegaon (Maharashtra):
Even as the Malegaon residents unfurled the tricolour Wednesday on
the occasion of Republic Day amidst a grim atmosphere, Police
arrested three more people for burning to death
additional district collector Yashwant Sonawane.
Yashwant Sonawane was
conducting a raid, which the police described was not planned, on
the oil mafia for pilferage from kerosene tankers near here when
he was attacked and burnt to death.
In all, seven accused have been remanded to
police custody till Feb 8.
The three held were Vikas Shinde, Sitaram Bhosale and Deepak
Borase. Four people - the prime accused Popat Shinde, his son
Kunal, Raju Shirsat and Kachru Suvaralkar - were arrested Tuesday.
Popat Shinde, who also sustained 60-65 percent burn injuries, was
earlier admitted in a Malegaon hospital but later shifted to
Mumbai because of his deteriorating condition.
The accused were presented in a Malegaon court and remanded to
police custody till Feb 8, a police official said.
Sonawane, 46, started off as a clerk in Mantralaya in 1988. He
studied for the state civil services exams and managed to clear
them in 1990, after which he was appointed deputy collector.
Sonawane spent the bulk of his career in North Maharashtra and was
promoted as additional collector of Malegaon in 2008. A Dalit from
a small hamlet called Lakhmapur in Nashik district, Sonawane
entered the bureaucracy with a drive to help his people.
He is survived by his wife and two
children.
Mahrashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had late Tuesday
announced a compensation of Rs.25 lakh for Sonawane's family along
with other benefits like a government job to one dependent family
member, salary till his retirement date, free education for his
two children till graduation and a residence from the government
quota.
Meanwhile, residents of Malegaon and surrounding towns unfurled the tricolour
Wednesday on the occasion of Republic Day amidst tight security
and a grim atmosphere to pay tribute to Sonawane. The regular
functions and programs that are normally part of Republic Day
celebrations are called off due to the heinous incidence.
Condolence meetings are also planned
by various people to pay tribute to Sonawane. While the state will
pay homage to him in a condolence meeting to be held in Nashik
January 27, people of Malegaon are organising similar meeting on
January 28.
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