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Murder case chargesheet filed against ex minister

Michael Gonsalves in Pune

The noose around former Maharashtra minister Udayanraje Bhosale, scion of the erstwhile royal family of Satara, tightened on Wednesday with the state Criminal Investigation Department filing a chargesheet against him and 14 others in the brutal murder of Nationalist Congress Party councillor Sharad Levhe.

Significantly, the name of Udayanraje, the 13th descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, is number one in the list of the accused.

The chargesheet was filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Kamal Wadgaonkar at Satara, about 89 days after the murder.

Lehve, once a supporter of Udayanraje Bhosale, was murdered in the wee hours of September 11, the day of voting in the Lok Sabha elections in Satara.

All the accused have been charged with murder and various offences under Indian Penal Code sections 302, 143,147, 148, 149, 327 and 427 and sections 37 (1,2) and 135 of the Mumbai Police Act.

If convicted, it will mean the death penalty or life imprisonment.

The chargesheet was filed by the additional public prosecutor V N Ponkshe in the presence of CID officials who included Deputy Inspector General of Police P Sharma, Superintendent of Police Rajendra Sonawane, Additional SP Vijayraso Gaikwad and Deputy Superintendent of Police H K Jagdale.

The accused include Yashodan Narkar, Manya Narkar, Sanjay Deshmukh, Sushil Mozar, Moreshwar Chowkwala, Venkappa Halyal, Amar Bhade, Bharat Tangde, Vijay Sholke, Abhijeet Jadhav, Santosh Lotterywala, Raju Nalwade, Mohan Mane and Chandrakant Raut.

The chargesheet also contains a list of 88 prosecution witnesses, including the names of 19 persons who claim that they are eye witnesses to the murder. It also contains more than 80 articles and exhibits which will be used by the prosecution as evidence during the trial.

Police had suspected Udayanraje's involvement in the murder as he was contesting the Satara assembly constituency. Udayanraje lost the polls to his uncle Abhaysinhraje Bhosale, who contested on the NCP ticket. All the accused, including Udayanraje, are in judicial custody.

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