MUMBAI, Apr 17: The death of Jitendra Shelke, a close aide of arrested godman “Captain” Ashok Kharat, cannot be an accident, anti-corruption activist Anjali Damania said here on Friday. Several political leaders have expressed doubts over the accident.
Jitendra Shelke, a close aide of Ashok Kharat as well as vice-chairman of the Shivnika Trust, died in an accident, after his car carrying him from Sambhajinagar to Shirdi hit a container truck on the Samruddhi Highway. Shelke’s wife Anuradha Shelke also died on the spot.
However, Shelke’s death at a time when godman Kharat is being investigated in several cases, has led to a political storm.
Sharad Pawar MLA Rohit Pawar, MLA Amol Mitkari, anti-corruption activist Anjali Damania and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader Sushma Andhare have expressed doubts.
“Jitendra Shelke was Number 2 at Shivnika Sansthan. He had more influence than the godman’s wife Kalpana Kharat and Rupali Chakankar. He was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) three days ago and today he died in an accident This cannot be an accident,” Anjali Damania said.
“The accidental death of Jitendra Shelke, the vice-president of Shivanika Sansthan and a close associate of Ashok Kharat is indeed very shocking. There are reasons to doubt if this accident was caused so that some other unsolved crimes of Kharat should not come to light and influential people should not get into trouble. There should be a thorough investigation into this accident,” Sharad Pawar-led NCP MLA Rohit Pawar said about the incident.
“The news of the accidental death of Jitendra Shelke, who is an important link in the Ashok Kharat case, is very shocking. I actually find this story unbelievable because for the past several days, many leaders had expressed fears that Ashok Kharat himself might be shot dead in a police encounter. Kharat’s life could be in danger. Today’s incident highlights this possibility even more prominently. Maybe some people feel that some truths in the Kharat case should not come out. Even then, if the SIT is still not accelerating the investigation, then the suspicion will increase even more,” Udhhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader Sushma Andhare said.
“The law would have decided whether Jitendra Shelke was a criminal or not. The law will punish the culprit. Nobody else has any right to take anyone’s life, but the incident which happened today definitely is a question mark on the entire investigation system and the entire governance system,” Sushma Andhare said.
“Jitendra Shelke was a close associate of the fraudster Ashok Kharat. Shelke was questioned by the ED two days ago. Now, only a few hours ago, he died in an unfortunate accident on the Samruddhi Highway. This incident is unfortunate, but how exactly did this person meet with an accident is a mystery,” Ajit Pawar-led NCP leader Amol Mitkari said.
(UNI)
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