Who is Shashikant Warishe and why was he murdered?

Warishe had written the article ‘Photo of criminal on banner alongside PM, CM and DCM claim farmers protesting against refinery’. The ‘criminal’ he was referring to was Amberkar who the article claimed was a supporter of the refinery and had openly threatened locals opposed to the project.

The incident: how was Shashikant Warishe murdered?

On Monday, Warishe was standing near a petrol pump on the Rajapur Highway when an SUV, allegedly driven by Amberkar, hit him, dragging him under the wheels for several metres before coming to a halt. The police said that the accused immediately fled from the scene as locals rushed in to help.

Warishe, unconscious, was taken to the local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday.

Dhananjay Kulkarni, the Superintendent of Police of Ratnagiri, said that the accused had been arrested immediately after the incident and produced in court, which remanded him in police custody till February 14.

While the Rajapur police had initially registered a case of culpable homicide, after protests from local activists, police pressed murder charges against Amberkar on Wednesday.

What was the alleged motive behind the murder?

For two years now, Warishe had been covering issues faced by local residents in connection with the setting up of the Ratnagiri refinery and petrochemicals factory, reported The Indian Express.

“He has been constantly writing about the refinery and the concerns that the villagers had about the project. He wrote extensively on the land acquisition fears of the villagers as well as the concerns of environmentalists,” Sadashiv Kerkar, the editor-in-chief of Mahanagari Times, a Mumbai-based paper, said.

The immediate trigger for the murder was an article titled ‘Photo of criminal on banner alongside PM, CM and DCM claim farmers protesting against refinery’, where Warishe alleged that Pandharinath Amberkar was a criminal.

According to The Indian Express, Amberkar, a real-estate broker, has a history of run-ins with with persons opposed to the setting up of a refinery and petrochemicals factory. In 2020, activist Manoj Mayekar was grievously injured after allegedly being hit by Amberkar’s SUV. Mayekar was in a Kolhapur hospital for two weeks. More recently, Amberkar also assaulted an activist in the court. Police inspector Janardan Parabkar of Rajapur police station told The Indian Express: “Including this murder case, there are three more FIRs registered against him”.

Why have locals opposed the proposed refinery project?

The Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd – jointly promoted by Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum – was originally planned in Nanar village of Ratnagiri but later shifted to Barsu during Uddhav Thackrey’s reign as chief minister. Covering an area of 15,000 acres, it will have a capacity to process over 1.2 million barrels of crude oil a day.

However, since the project was first proposed, it has seen vocal opposition from locals as well as environmentalists. Activists and villages fear pollution and destruction of the area, which is largely dependent on agriculture and famed for the Alphonso mango.

There have also been concerns regarding land acquisition raised by the villagers.

Archaelogists have highlighted the potential of the proposed refinery to damage Ratnagiri’s ancient rock art.

“He was consistently highlighting their grievances. He wrote even when we were protesting against the Nanar site. When the location was changed to Barsu, he highlighted the opposition then as well,” said Mangesh Chavan, an environmentalist.

How have people reacted to Warishe’s death?

Warishe was the sole breadwinner of his family which comprised his elderly mother and 19-year old son. He lived in Kasheli village of the Ratnagiri district, about 20 km from the new site of the refinery at Barsu.

Warishe’s family members said they were unaware that his work could ever put him in harm’s way. His mother said, “He was only fighting for the locals. I don’t know what will happen to us and my grandson now. He was the sole breadwinner”.

Since Warishe’s death, protests have been held in Ratnagiri as well as Mumbai with journalists and activists demanding justice.

The opposition too has slammed the government on the issue. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut claimed that Warishe’s death was a much larger conspiracy. “Varishe was becoming a hurdle for many as he was exposing the issues… caused by the setting up of the refinery in Konkan… He had received threats before too,” Raut claimed.

He alleged that there is a big financial scam going on with regards to the refinery. “Traders have bought a large amount of land around the project. I will announce the list of businessmen who have bought land there” said Raut. While concerns regarding land acquisition had also been raised previously, the government has not taken any action on the matter.

Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar also slammed the government for the journalist’s death, claiming that the incident highlighted “a failure of law and order”.

Notably, the accused, Pandharinath Amberkar, was a worker of the BJP, which was quick to distance itself from his actions. A party leader from Konkan region said: “Pandharinath Amberkar had recently joined the BJP. He was part of the pro-refinery group that wanted to be associated with BJP. He does not hold any post.”