The CBI had also named the main accused's son, a juvenile at the time of the incident, as one of the perpetrators of the crime. The case against him is pending before the Juvenile Justice Board. Eleven years after an additional district collector of Nashik was burnt to death for objecting to oil adulteration, three persons were sentenced to life imprisonment by a sessions court on Thursday.
Yashwant Sonawane (46) was assaulted, sprayed with kerosene and burnt alive in Manmad, nearly 280 km from Mumbai, on January 25, 2011. The probe in the case was later transferred to the CBI from the state police.
The court found Rajendra Shirsat, Machindra Suradkar and Ajay Sonawane guilty under charges, including section 302 (murder) and 353 (use of criminal force or assault on a public servant) read with 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code.
The three were employees of the main accused, who had rented a dhaba where the oil adulteration was taking place. The main accused had sustained 70 per cent burns while pouring kerosene on Sonawane. He died within a week of the incident at Mumbai’s J J hospital.
The CBI had also named the main accused’s son, a juvenile at the time of the incident, as one of the perpetrators of the crime. The case against him is pending before the Juvenile Justice Board.
Special Public Prosecutor Manoj Chaladan said that 21 witnesses deposed in the case, including two eyewitnesses. They were Sonawane’s driver and his personal assistant who were with him at the time of the incident.
According to submissions made before the court by the prosecution, on January 25, 2011, Sonawane had traveled to Chandwad for official work in connection to farmers’ agitation due to a fall in onion prices.
The incident took place when he was on his way to Nandgaon for a meeting. On way at Manmad, Sonawane was driving past the dhaba rented by the main accused. As he found a tanker and truck parked suspiciously, he stopped for an inspection and found indication that oil pilferage was taking place at the dhaba. Following this, he began recording a video of the spot.
While the main accused and his son were not at the spot, the other accused in the case alerted them of the inspection. Soon, others reached the spot and started assaulting Sonawane. After he fell on the floor, the main accused poured kerosene on him and lit a fire. The initial probe had pointed out that Manmad houses depots of fuel companies with tankers transporting fuel to other districts. Illegal activities of adulteration of fuel had sprung up in the area with many like the dhaba of the main accused used as a spot in connivance with others to pilfer oil, adulterate and conduct its sale.
The CBI had claimed that the murder was also the result of a past enmity between the accused.