Veteran Left leader Govind Pansare and his wife were shot, while they were taking a morning stroll near their home in Maharashtra's Kolhapur city this morning. At around 8 am, two unknown men came on a bike and shot (the couple) at least eight rounds of fire from the closed proximity before leaving the scene, sources said.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he was "deeply shocked" and ordered for a top level inquiry monitored by the state police chief. The government has condemned the attack and ordered roadblocks across the state to catch the gunmen.
The witnesses took the Pansares to hospital by witnesses and are going through surgery for bullet wounds. Reports suggest two men in a bike shot at them.
Mr Pansare has fought for years against the state government's decision to charge citizens for road development.
Former union minister Sharad Pawar called it an attempt to "muzzle voices" that stand for their ideology. "It is an attack on forces that speak against extreme forces. This was clear after the death of Narendra Dabholkar," Mr Pawar said.
Mr. Dabholkar, an anti-superstition activist, was shot dead similarly in August, 2013 while he was on a morning walk near his house in Pune. The Maharashtra government had announced a reward of Rs. 10 lakh for information on his killers.
Surprisingly, the third scenario, in which RTI activist Satish Shetty was killed in 2010 also, suggests the strong similarities as he was shot dead on his morning stroll walk. He was allegedly stabbed by several people.
Maharashtra Congress president Manikrao Thakre, condemning today's incident as "dastardly", said people with different ideologies had been targeted systematically in recent months.
- Manohar
