Maha SIT: No plans yet to seek Waghmare's custody

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the murder of CPI leader Govind Pansare on Tuesday said that so far it had no plans to seek custody of Parashuram Waghmare, the prime accused in journalist Gauri Lankesh's killing.

"At present we do not have any plan like that, but we could take him into custody during the course of our investigation," a senior SIT official told PTI.

The Karnataka SIT recently arrested six people, including Waghmare (26), an active member of right-wing group Sri Ram Sene, in connection with Lankesh's murder.

"As of now we have not asked for the custody of Waghmare and other suspects," the Maharashtra SIT official added.

A forensic report had earlier confirmed that the same weapon was used to kill Lankesh, Pansare and Kannada writer and rationalist MM Kalburgi. The weapon, however, is yet to be traced.

Pansare was leading a campaign against road toll tax and was shot at by motorcycle-borne assailants on February 16, 2015 in Maharashtra's Kolhapur city.

He succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Mumbai on February 20.