Mumbai, January 31: Popat Shinde, the prime accused in the case where Additional District Collector Yashwant Sonawane was burnt alive, today succumbed to burn injuries sustained during the attack on the official a week ago.
Shinde died at a state-run hospital while undergoing treatment for burn injuries, hospital authorities said.
“Shinde died this afternoon. After conducting post mortem, the body would be handed over to police investigating Sonawane”s murder case,” P P Lahane, Dean at J J hospital told PTI.
Police had tried to record Shinde”s statement but could not do so as he could not speak.
According to the FIR in the case, Shinde, helped by his son Kunal, and their aides–Balerao and Shirsat–, had poured kerosene on Sonawane and torched him on January 25 at Manmad in Nashik district, about 250 km from here, after the Malegaon Additional District Collector objected to oil pilferage.
Shinde had suffered 70 per cent burn injuries in the incident and had been rushed next day to J J hospital, where he was undergoing treatment.
Poor Popat Shinde was only a Popat of the big boss who must be sitting in his castle, elsewhere, directing all the operations, while financing the project. The boss must have adequately insured Shinde. There are a whole lot of Mafia bosses who get their hafta from the contractors like Shinde. It is similar all over the world. Even the Somali pirates are only frontline men for the big bosses who are living in luxury elsewhere.
These big bosses are able to manage the police by paying them through the greedy and corrupt politicians. This oil scam is not of recent origin. It has been in operation even 5 decades ago. You can imagine what type of politicians are the main actors.
The only way to kill this activity is to allow market to detrmine the prices. For this political will is required.Parties should only work for the good of INDIA and not support systems which favour vote-bank politics.
——PTI—