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Yashwant Sonawane (Hindi: ; died 25 January 2011) was the Additional District Collector of Malegaon (Maharashtra). He was allegedly burnt alive by an oil adulteration mafia at Manmad near Nashik. Sonawane had received some information about oil adulteration a week ago[when?] 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 a 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. A twist in the story came when the CBI started investigations. It was revealed that Yashwant Sonawane was in fact being investigated on charges of accepting bribes and corruption. The CBI report also indicated that both Sonawane and Shinde had a long-standing mutually beneficial relationship. Things turned sour when Sonawane's demands for bribes increased.

Yashwant Sonawane sought bribe to release oil tanker: CBI

The main accused in the murder of Additional District Collector Yashwant Sonawane, who was killed by oil mafia, had alleged the officer sought a bribe of Rs1 lakh for the release of an oil tanker seized in May last year, according to the CBI chargehseet. The accused, Popat Dattu Shinde (who later died), had filed a complaint against Sonawane with Nashik unit of Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB). However, ACB was unable to trap Sonawane, then Additional Collector of Malegaon, it said. Investigations show there was prior enmity between Shinde and Sonawane, the Central agency said. CBI, which took over the probe from Maharashtra Police, filed the 300-page chargesheet against six accused in a court in Manmad near here yesterday. Sonawane was set ablaze near Manmad on January 25 this year when he tried to stop a group of people led by Shinde, said to be members of the oil mafia, from adulterating kerosene. Shinde, who too had suffered burn injures in the incident, later died in a Mumbai hospital. Shinde's minor son Kunal, also a suspect, has been sent to a remand home, while two other accused are absconding. Those chargesheeted, currently out on bail, were booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and IPC sections related to murder, criminal conspiracy and others.

CBI begins probe into Yashwant Sonawane murder case

A seven-member team of CBI today launched investigations into murder of Malegaon additional collector Yashwant Sonawane who was allegedly burnt alive by oil mafia in Nashik district. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on April 8 registered a case against 11 persons for burning alive Sonawane on January 25. The accused include Popat Shinde who suffered 70% burns in the incident and died a few days later. Sources in the local police said that they were not aware of the future course of investigation since the apex investigating agency has taken over the reins of probe from them. The police have so far booked about a dozen accused under stringent provisions of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) in connection with the case. Sonawane was burnt alive by oil mafia on Manmad-Nandgaon road on January 25 when he caught the accused adulterating Kerosene.

Prime accused in Yashwant Sonawane murder case Popat Shinde dead

A week after additional district collector Yashwant Sonawane was burnt alive, Popat Shinde, the prime accused in the case, succumbed to burn injuries at the JJ hospital. Shinde died at 1.10pm on Monday. The reasons for his death are deep burn injuries and cardiac arrest. After conducting a post-mortem, his body would be handed over to the police, said PP Lahane, JJ hospital dean. The police said Shindes death wont have a bearing on the Sonawane case since they have foolproof evidence against all the accused. Shindes death will not affect our case. We have ample proof and witnesses to present a watertight case in court. Also, the video recording by Sonawane is a crucial piece of evidence. It clearly shows his assailants indulging in pilferage, Milind Bharambe, superintendent of police, Nashik rural, told DNA. Eleven people, including Shinde, set Sonawane ablaze at Panewad on January 25. The additional collector was returning after attending a farmer protest at Chandwad and reportedly saw pilferage taking place from an oil tanker behind Sagar dhaba. He was assaulted and set on fire after he confronted the culprits. While Sonawane died on the spot, Shinde sustained severe burn injuries. He was admitted to JJ hospital a few days ago with 70% burns. His condition deteriorated in the last couple of days and he was kept under observation, doctors said. The police had made several attempts to record his statement, but Shinde could not speak.

Shinde was supposed to undergo an operation on Monday. We were supposed to remove the dead tissues in his body, a doctor from JJ hospital told DNA.

Yashwant Sonawane murder case accused moves high court, challenges MCOCA
Madansingh Rajmurdas Singh, one of the accused in additional collector Yashwant Sonawane murder case, has moved the Bombay high court challenging the invocation of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Singh has also sought quashing of FIR against him. On January 25, Sonawane was set ablaze by some people involved in fuel adulteration at Panewadi near Manmand in Nashik district. While Sonawane died on the spot, Popat Shinde, the main accused, too suffered burns, and died later. Apart from Singh, nine persons were arrested. In his petition before the High Court, Singh has said he was falsely implicated in the case. "Police have shown cases registered more than ten years back while invoking sections under MCOCA. According to the law, MCOCA can be invoked only if a person has two or more cases registered against him in the past ten year period," the petition says. The division bench of Justices P V Hardas and M N Gilani has adjourned the matter till April 21. According to the police, Sonawane had spotted an oil pilfering and tried to stop it, which led to the gruesome murder.

MCOCA invoked in Yashwant Sonawane murder case

Mumbai: The stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) was on Friday invoked against the nine accused in Additional Collector Yashwant Sonawane murder case. Additional Secretary (Home) Umeshchandra Sarangi confirmed that MCOCA has been applied against the nine accused, who have been arrested. Sonawane was burnt alive by suspected members of the oil adulteration racket on January 25 near Manmad in the Nashik district, when he tried to stop an adulteration that was underway. The main accused in the case, Popat Shinde, who allegedly poured kerosene on Sonawane and

set him afire, also died in the civic run JJ hospital here after sustaining over 70 per cent burn injuries. His son Kunal too had been arrested, but he was later shifted to remand home as he is a minor. This apart, nine others were arrested by police.

CBI files chargesheet in Yashwant Sonawane case

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a chargesheet in the Malegaon Additional Collector Yashwant Sonawane murder case. In its chargesheet the CBI alleges that investigations show there was prior enmity between Popat Sinde and Yashwant Sonawne. The CBI chargesheet also mentions that the Anti Corruption Bureau, Nashik, was investigating a complaint against Sonwane filed by Shinde. Shinde alleged that Sonawane had sought a bribe of Rs one lakh for the release of an oil tanker seized in Manmad on May 10 May, 2010. The complaint filed by Shinde is dated August 27, 2010. Sonawane was set on fire by the petrol mafia in Nashik on January 26, 2011. He was on his way for a meeting with his assistant and his driver when he noticed tankers and drums of oil at near a dhaba. The officer asked some uncomfortable questions after which the offenders brutally set him on fire. Shinde, one of the main accused, who himself suffered 60 per cent burn injuries in the attack, later died. Shinde had several diesel smuggling cases registered against him. The attackers included his son, Kunal Shinde.

Will Yashwant Sonawane ever get justice?

Mumbai: Malegaon Additional Collector Yashwant Sonawane was set on fire by the petrol mafia in Nashik on India's 61 Republic Day. Sonawane was on his way for a meeting with his assistant and his driver when he noticed tankers and drums of oil at near a dhaba. The officer asked some uncomfortable questions after which the offenders brutally set him on fire. Popat Shinde, one of the main accused, who himself suffered 60 per cent burn injuries on the attack, later died. Shinde had several diesel smuggling cases registered against him. The attackers included his son, Kunal Shinde. An embarrassed state government scrambled to control the damage and announced a Rs 25 lakh compensation for Sonawane's family. They also promised to pay his salary till what would've been his retirement and stated they would want to treat the incident as a test case for the government, especially as the government acknowledged it was strange that a habitual offender was roaming freely. Milind Bhrambe SP Nashik said, "From records it appears that he was a habitual offender." Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said, "Despite his name being in the records, he was working openly. We need to probe this." Sonawane's murder led to an outcry as it had close parallels to the murder of Indian Oil Corporation executive Manjunath Shanmugham in 2005, allegedly by the Petrol mafia. As of now, it looks as if Sonwane's martyrdom on Republic Day hasn't changed much on the ground.

Sonawane killers get bail as CBI falters

Mumbai: Less than five months after the brutal killing of Malegaon Additional Collector Yashwant Sonawane, all the 10 accused arrested by the police are now out on bail, simply because prosecutors failed to file a chargesheet. This despite the accused being booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. The incident had attracted nationwide outrage after Sonawane was allegedly burnt alive by the oil mafia in Manmad on January 25. The Maharashtra police investigated the case for over 70 days, after which 10 people were arrested. The main accused Popat Shinde, died of burns sustained during the attack. Despite the arrests, Sonwane's family insisted the case be probed by the CBI. After this appeal the case was transferred to the CBI on April 8. The CBI investigation lasted for about 40 days, with no headway. But this wasn't just the only shocker, one person accused in the case got bail on February 22 itself, and two more were set free on April 2. The three were given bail because the Maharashtra police failed to convince the court that they were present at the crime scene. Shockingly, the CBI failed to do so too. The CBI applied for extension twice, for the maximum time allowed for filing a chargesheet. While a month's extension was given, the court rejected the second plea. After the CBI failed to file the chargesheet, the special court gave bail to the remaining seven on May 25. The CBI had told the court they needed more time as too many documents needed to be translated from Marathi. An embarrassed Maharashtra government has put forth this as a defence. RR Patil Maharashtra Home Minister said, "When the case is with the CBI, how can the police be blamed? If some people have got bail that doesn't mean that the probe has faltered." The government's promise of treating the murder as a test case and conducting a speedy trial, now lies in tatters, much like the hope of justice for the Sonawane family.

Maharashtra budget session to begin from Monday

Mumbai: The six-week-long Budget Session of the Maharashtra Legislature, which will begin in Mumbai from Monday, is expected to see Government-Opposition face-off on issues such as corruption, murder of additional collector Yashwant Sonawane and Jaitapur nuclear power project. This will be Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan's first budget session after he took over last November following the resignation of his predecessor Ashok Chavan in the wake of Adarsh Housing scam. He is not a member of the either House of the legislature. Congress MLC Sanjay Dutt has vacated his seat in the Legislative Council for him, and the date of the by-election is expected to be announced soon. Unlike the Winter Session in Nagpur, Chavan may not have a smooth sailing in the budget session. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement in the Rajya Sabha that Department of Personnel and Training, then under Chavan was responsible for shortlisting PJ Thomas for the post of Central Vigilance Commissioner, has provided ammunition to the main Opposition, Shiv Sena-BJP. BJP has also organised a rally on issues such as inflation and corruption to coincide with the session. But Congress may counter-charge, raking up the issue of alleged involvement of BJP Mumbai unit president, Raj Purohit, in a Pune land scam.

NCP member threatens to kill reporter, held

Mumbai: The murder of additional collector Yashwant Sonawane's and the crackdown on adulteration rackets in Maharashtra has failed to reign in the state mafia cartels. After the oil cartel, now the sand mafia strikes terror in Maharashtra. Newspaper reporter Sachin Kale was threatened with murder by a NCP member Ramsheth Kale, allegedly a part of Pune's sand mafia, for calling up a mining officer to check about permissions for sand dredging.

BJP demands CBI probe in Sonawane's killing

Mumbai: Maharashtra BJP on Wednesday demanded CBI probe into the murder of additional collector Yashwant Sonawane at the hands of adulteration mafia. A delegation of BJP leaders led by Eknath Khadse met the Governor K Sankaranarayanan on Wednesday and put forward the demand. Khadse also demanded a white paper on externment cases in recent years.

"The local police and bureaucrats are hand in gloves with mafia. It is difficult to expect unbiased inquiry from the state police, so we demanded a CBI probe at the meeting with the Governor," Khadse said. The BJP leader also demanded a white paper from the Government on cases where externment orders were withdrawn, in last three years. The prime accused in Sonawane case, Popat Shinde, had been externed, but later his externment was reduced by six months.

Sonawane's video crucial evidence: RR Patil

New Delhi/Mumbai: A day after CNN-IBN aired the video allegedly shot by late Additional Collector of Malegaon Yashwant Sonawane in which he documented the operations of the kerosene mafia, Maharshtra's Home minister RR Patil says it is crucial evidence and will be submitted to the court. The video will be fully examined and based on that next investigation will take place. It can be submitted as evidence in the court, said Patil. It is believed that Sonawane was killed for having captured the operations of the kerosene mafia. The state government has been cracking down on the oil mafia after the killing. The video clearly shows how the fuel mafia steals petrol and kerosene before the tankers reach the depots. Pilferage of oil is not new to Maharashtra. Official sources tell us that such raids are conducted every year. In 2008, fuel worth nearly Rs 10 crore was seized in Thane region alone. In 2009, this amount was three times the previous year. Sonawane's murder triggered a massive crackdown on the oil adulteration mafias. The Maharashtra government has raided more godowns at Solapur, Sangli and Ahmednagar areas. An CNN-IBN team had accompanied the Maharashtra Police while they raided the Kurla area. There have been nearly 200 arrests made across the state after the murder of Yashwant Sonawane. But that is not enough. The illegal market was pegged at Rs 10,000 crore in 2005 and its only getting bigger. And if the government wants to ensure there will be no more Sonawane, they will have to do much better than a few arrests.

Caught on camera: how the oil mafia steals

Nasik: Just a few days after Malegaon Additional District Collector Yashwant Sonawane was burnt alive for trying to curb the oil mafia in Maharashtra, CNN-IBN gets access to the exclusive and dramatic pictures that show how oil is being pilfered. The pilferage of fuel was even caught on camera supposedly by Sonawane just days before he was murdered. The video exclusively available to CNN-IBN displayed how the fuel mafias steal petrol and kerosene - tanker after tanker. Locations in and around Nasik were safe heaven for the fuel mafia operations. CNN-IBN investigations revealed that many of the private fuel tankers were designed for oil pilferage. Each normal truck, with a capacity of 12 kilolitres, usually has three compartments of 4 kilolitres each. The specifically designed tankers have a hidden compartment with a capacity of another 50 to 100 litres inside one of the compartments When the trucks filled the fuel, the lid of the hidden compartment remained closed. The truck then went to a retail outlet where the dealers checked the quality and quantity of the fuel using dips. When the checks got over, the driver pulled the lid of the hidden compartment using a cable that he can access through a lever in his cabin. The hidden chamber got filled even as the fuel was being emptied out at the retail outlet. Fuel mafia gangs such as that of Popat, the main accused in Sonawane murder case, had a tie up with transporters and security guards posted at the oil companies. Once the tankers leave with

fuel, a racketeer's network was alerted. Instead of heading directly for the consumer, the tankers are driven to the transfer points, some of them on the Nasik-Mumbai highway. With petrol prices moving up and kerosene prices unchanged, the incentive to adulterate is high. In 2005 the illegal market was pegged at Rs 10,000 crore and it was only getting bigger. Sonawane's death should be the wake up call for the government and oil companies to act and stop the adulteration and pilferage.