Popat Shinde, prime accused in the case of murder of Nashik Additional Collector Yashwant Sonawane, succumbed to his burns in a city hospital on Monday afternoon. “He had suffered 70 per cent burn injuries. Post mortem will be done after the police panchanama,” P. P. Lahane, Dean, Sir J J Hospital, told The Hindu.
Shinde received burns when Sonawane, who was set on fire, caught hold of him at Manmad, Nashik, on January 25. The Additional Collector lost his life in his bid to foil kerosene pilferage.
The statement of Shinde, who was part of a kerosene mafia, was not recorded by the police. His two sons have already been arrested. One of them, a minor, has been sent to a reformation centre. The First Information Report mentions 11 names. Except the minor, all the accused are in police custody.
