KOLHAPUR: Senior CPI leader Govind Pansare, who was at the forefront of a campaign against road toll tax, and his wife were today shot at and critically wounded by motorcycle-borne assailants, triggering outrage.
“Pansare is critical but stable,” Aster Aadhar Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Ulhas Damle told reporters.
Damle said Pansare,78, who is undergoing surgery, received three gunshot injuries in the neck, armpit and on the right leg near the knee.
“The blood vessels providing circulation to the brain are intact. Bleeding from the injury has now been controlled.
His heartbeat and blood pressure are stable. The operation is going on and it will take few hours more. At this stage, the condition of Pansare is critical but stable,” he said.
Pansare’s wife Uma has a fracture on right side of the skull. Her CT scan showed hemorrhage at the place of fracture, but she is now conscious and being treated in the ICU, the CMO said.
The assailants fired at Pansare and his wife this morning outside the Ideal Housing Society here when the couple was returning after their daily morning walk.
The attack comes almost a year-and-half since the murder of noted rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, who was also shot in a similar manner during a morning walk in Pune. The case remains unsolved.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis condemned the incident and said ten police teams have been formed to apprehend the culprits.
“This incident is condemnable and shocking. I have sought information. He is critical. Let us pray for his recovery,” he told reporters.
Fadnavis said he had directed the Kolhapur Superintendent of Police to arrest those behind the incident urgently.
Minister of State for Home Ram Shinde has been rushed to Kolhapur to take stock of the situation and supervise efforts to track down the assailants. . Condemning the incident, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said, “This attack is a matter of concern for a progressive state like Maharashtra.”
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray also spoke to the Chief Minister and sought urgent steps to arrest the perpetrators.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil sought dismissal of state police chief Sanjeev Dayal, alleging he was not competent enough to tackle the law and order situation.
Vikhe Patil also demanded a “full-time” Home Minister in the state. The Home portfolio is held by Chief Minister Fadnavis.
Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said Pansare had always fought against the capitalist and communal forces and those could be behind the murderous attack on the veteran leader.
“Narendra Dabholkar was fighting forces of superstition and communalism and he was also gunned down,” Chavan said, adding, “The government should not only apprehend people who pulled the trigger but also the forces behind them.” –PTI
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