Shrikant Pangarkar, accused of murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, contested the Jalna Municipal Corporation elections as an independent candidate and won. He has achieved this victory during the ongoing trial in the Gauri Lankesh murder case.
Mumbai: Shrikant Pangarkar, accused of murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, has won the Jalna Municipal Corporation elections. He had contested the elections as an independent candidate. She won Ward 13 by a margin of 2,621 votes, defeating candidates from BJP and other parties. Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena had not fielded any candidate in this ward. This victory of Pangarkar has come when a criminal case related to the murder of Gauri Lankesh is going on against him.
After winning, she told the media that no charges have been framed against her yet and legal proceedings are still ongoing. Soon after the results came out, videos of Pangarkar celebrating with his supporters went viral.
Journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru, Karnataka on September 5, 2017. There were protests across the country after this murder. Pangarkar was made an accused in this case. On September 4, 2024, the Karnataka High Court granted him bail. Pangarkar had earlier been a corporator in Jalna Municipal Council from the undivided Shiv Sena between 2001 and 2006.
After not getting the ticket in 2011, he joined the right-wing Hindu Janajagruti Samiti. In August 2018, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested him after seizing country-made bombs and weapons from different parts of the state. Ahead of the November 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, Pangarkar had joined the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena. But, after all-round criticism, Shinde expelled him from the party.