Yashwant Sonawane
Encyclopedia
Yashwant Sonawane was the Additional District Collector of Malegaon (Maharashtra
). He was allegedly burnt alive by an oil adulteration mafia at Manmad near Nashik on 25 January 2011.
Sonawane had received some information about oil adulteration a week ago from his sources. While going to Nandgaon for a tehsildar meeting he spotted a few trucks parked in a very suspicious manner near a road side eatery where the depots of IOC, HPCL and BPCL were located. The area was infamous for smuggling and adulteration of petrol, diesel and kerosene. Sonawane got off the car and started nvestigating about the trucks, the local police it appears were not informed about this raid. Sometime later a man named Popat Shinde, who had a reputation of running an oil, petrol and diesel smuggling racket, along with his men attacked the officer, beat him up and then set him on fire. Shinde was detained by police and was taken to the Malegaon Civil Hospital since he also suffered burn injuries. Sonawane was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
Sonawane was known to be a sincere and upright officer. He was accompanied by his personal assistant and another staff member but had no police cover.
In November 2005 a similar mafia killed an IIM
graduate Shanmugam Manjunath who was murdered for sealing a corrupt petrol station in UP.
On 26 January 2011 seven persons, arrested for burning to death Yashwant Sonawane, were produced before local court at Manmad. They have been remanded to police custody for 2 weeks till February 8.
State Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan ordered an inquiry into the incident. He said, the government will not tolerate attacks on the officials and strict action will be taken against those responsible for burning Sonawane.
On 28 January 2011, two days after Sonawane was burnt alive authorities in Maharashtra carried out raids at nearly 200 places, in a move to crack down on the oil adulteration mafia.
“We learnt with shock about the heinous killing of Additional Collector Yashwant Sonawane (who was set on fire by the oil mafia in Manmad on January 24 while attempting to stop diversion of PDS kerosene). He died a martyr to the cause of anti-adulteration drive,” Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy told a news conference in New Delhi on 28 January 2011.
An ex-gratia of Rs. 25 lakh was also announced for the family of Sonawane.
Mr. Reddy also said that an improved chemical marker will be doped in kerosene to make its mixing with diesel near impossible.
Meanwhile, Popat Shinde, 45, prime accused in the murder of additional collector Yashwant Sonawane, died of a cardiac arrest caused due to septicemia on January 31, 2011 at JJ Hospital in the city. Shinde, who was being treated for burn injuries, died in the afternoon, but no one came forward to claim his body.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
). He was allegedly burnt alive by an oil adulteration mafia at Manmad near Nashik on 25 January 2011.
Sonawane had received some information about oil adulteration a week ago from his sources. While going to Nandgaon for a tehsildar meeting he spotted a few trucks parked in a very suspicious manner near a road side eatery where the depots of IOC, HPCL and BPCL were located. The area was infamous for smuggling and adulteration of petrol, diesel and kerosene. Sonawane got off the car and started nvestigating about the trucks, the local police it appears were not informed about this raid. Sometime later a man named Popat Shinde, who had a reputation of running an oil, petrol and diesel smuggling racket, along with his men attacked the officer, beat him up and then set him on fire. Shinde was detained by police and was taken to the Malegaon Civil Hospital since he also suffered burn injuries. Sonawane was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.
Sonawane was known to be a sincere and upright officer. He was accompanied by his personal assistant and another staff member but had no police cover.
In November 2005 a similar mafia killed an IIM
Indian Institutes of Management
The Indian Institutes of Management , are graduate business schools in India. They were set up with the objective of providing management education and to assist the industry through research and consulting services. The IIMs award diplomas and not degrees.- Institutes :Indian Institute of...
graduate Shanmugam Manjunath who was murdered for sealing a corrupt petrol station in UP.
On 26 January 2011 seven persons, arrested for burning to death Yashwant Sonawane, were produced before local court at Manmad. They have been remanded to police custody for 2 weeks till February 8.
State Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan ordered an inquiry into the incident. He said, the government will not tolerate attacks on the officials and strict action will be taken against those responsible for burning Sonawane.
On 28 January 2011, two days after Sonawane was burnt alive authorities in Maharashtra carried out raids at nearly 200 places, in a move to crack down on the oil adulteration mafia.
“We learnt with shock about the heinous killing of Additional Collector Yashwant Sonawane (who was set on fire by the oil mafia in Manmad on January 24 while attempting to stop diversion of PDS kerosene). He died a martyr to the cause of anti-adulteration drive,” Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy told a news conference in New Delhi on 28 January 2011.
An ex-gratia of Rs. 25 lakh was also announced for the family of Sonawane.
Mr. Reddy also said that an improved chemical marker will be doped in kerosene to make its mixing with diesel near impossible.
Meanwhile, Popat Shinde, 45, prime accused in the murder of additional collector Yashwant Sonawane, died of a cardiac arrest caused due to septicemia on January 31, 2011 at JJ Hospital in the city. Shinde, who was being treated for burn injuries, died in the afternoon, but no one came forward to claim his body.