In Sena-UBT rebellion, a 2006 assassination is haunting Uddhav Thackeray: The story of rebel Omraje Nimbalkar

A20-year-old slay caseful has emerged to be important in the in style(p) stock split speculation that is haunting the former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena or the Shiv Sena (UBT), a murmured rebellion crisis that comes years after the party founded by his father split in two and left him out of power.If speculation are true, Uddhav Thackeray is currently battling ‘Operation Tiger’, the alleged attempts by ex-aide Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena’s bid to poach elected representatives from the rival camp, which is believed to have been in play ever since Shinde split the Sena and joined forces with the ruling BJP in Maharashtra in 2022. The latest push, the second major division for Thackeray, moved with unusual speed, catching the Sena (UBT) leadership off-guard.The first sign that the operation was underway were visible four days ago, when some Sena (UBT) MPs failed to personally attend a meeting called by Thackeray at his residence in Mumbai. Then, on Tuesday, the rebel MPs severed communication with party leaders. It reached a critcal stage when the six dissident MPs defied the party’s whip calling a meeting of the Sena (UBT)’s parliamentary party in Delhi on Thursday.The six MPs reportedly are - Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Bhausaheb Wakchaure (Shirdi), Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal-Washim), Nagesh Patil Ashtikar (Hingoli), Sanjay Dina Patil (Mumbai North-East) and Omraje Nimbalkar (Dharashiv).The story of Omraje NimbalkarAmong the above names, Omraje Nimbalkar's reason for siding with the rebels in particular is striking with a 20-year-old political murder's connection. Until recently, there was speculation that Sanjay Patil and Omraje Nimbalkar, both of whom had remained loyal to Thackeray during the 2022 split, might stay with the party. Patil had publicly maintained on Wednesday that he remained with Sena (UBT), but he too skipped Thursday's meeting.After the meeting, Sawant announced disciplinary action. "We are issuing notices (to all six MPs) seeking an explanation for their absence from today’s meeting. They must respond within seven days, after which we will explore legal options," said Arvind Sawant.Omraje Nimbalkar's father Pawanraje Nimbalkar was shot dead while travelling from Pune to Mumbai on June 3, 2006 — a killing which was investigated by multiple agencies and moved through several courts.Pawanraje Nimbalkar, who was a Congress leader at the time, was shot dead along with his driver, Samad Abdul Wahid Kazi. Nimbalkar's Skoda was intercepted near Kalamboli in Navi Mumbai by four men travelling in a Tata Indica, according to details mentioned in an earlier HT report. The assailants opened fire, killing Nimbalkar, who was asleep in the back seat, and his driver.Among those present in Tuesday's special CBI court verdict in the case was 86-year-old Padmasinh Bajirao Patil, a former Maharashtra home minister, senior leader of the undivided Nationalist Congress Party, and step-brother of Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar. Also present was Pawanraje Nimbalkar's son, Omraje Nimbalkar.By Tuesday evening, however, the court had deferred its judgment for the second time since May. The verdict is now scheduled for June 20, a day after the Shiv Sena marks its 60th foundation day.At a press conference in New Delhi, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut, who has been at the centre of the ongoing political crisis, alleged that several inducements were being offered to party MPs to engineer another split. Raut claimed before journalists-without providing evidence-that Omraje Nimbalkar had been promised a favourable verdict in the case. Omraje has long been pursuing the conviction of all nine accused.While Raut's allegations remain unsubstantiated, the case serves as a reminder of the complex and often murky nature of Maharashtra politics.Pawanraje Nimbalkar and Padmasinh Patil were first cousins whose family wielded considerable influence in Osmanabad politics through cooperative institutions, including the Terna Sugar Cooperative. After Sharad Pawar split from the Congress to form the NCP in 1999, Patil joined the new party while Nimbalkar remained with the Congress. The cousins faced each other in the 2004 Assembly election from Osmanabad, where Nimbalkar lost narrowly. Their political rivalry eventually spilled over into their business interests as well.The murderAccording to the CBI, the motive behind Nimbalkar's murder was linked to alleged irregularities involving funds collected after the Kargil War, as mentioned in an earlier HT report. Padmasinh Patil, then a state minister and chairman of the Terna Sugar Cooperative, was accused of misusing money raised for the families of Kargil martyrs. The agency alleged that anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare exposed the fraud using information allegedly provided by Pawanraje Nimbalkar. During his testimony before the CBI court, Hazare claimed that Patil had also planned to eliminate him.Besides Padmasinh Patil, the accused include Dinesh Tiwari and Pintu Singh Chaudhary, who allegedly shot Nimbalkar and his driver. The other occupants of the Tata Indica were Parasmal Badala of Dombivli and Gyanendra Pande, an associate of former BSP functionary Kailash Yadav from Ambedkarnagar in Uttar Pradesh.Investigators alleged that Badala and Pande were connected to Mohan Shukla, a former councillor of the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation, who was allegedly tasked by Padmasinh Patil with organising the murder. According to the prosecution, Shukla directed the alleged killers to meet businessman Satish Mandade in Latur, who would arrange ₹30 lakh for the contract killing. Mandade was alleged to be an associate of Patil.Another accused, former state excise officer Shashikant Kulkarni, allegedly provided Badala with an initial payment running into a few lakh rupees. All nine accused are currently out on bail.After the Kalamboli police and later the Navi Mumbai Crime Branch failed to make progress in the investigation, Nimbalkar's widow Anandibai approached the Bombay High Court seeking a CBI probe into the double murder.In her petition, she named Padmasinh Patil as the prime suspect. She alleged that Patil began viewing her husband as a political threat after narrowly defeating him by just 484 votes in the 2004 Assembly election. According to her petition, Patil had Nimbalkar killed days before elections to the Terna Sugar Cooperative in June 2006.The CBI later claimed to have cracked the case after Parasmal Badala, who was already in custody in another matter, disclosed details of the conspiracy.According to the agency, on June 3, 2006, Badala called Nimbalkar posing as a businessman named Mahendra Jain who wanted to purchase Nimbalkar's land in Vashi for the construction of a Jain temple. Nimbalkar allegedly informed him that he was travelling to Mumbai by road and could meet him in Navi Mumbai.Omraje Nimbalkar's political journeyAfter the shooting, investigators said, the assailants abandoned the Tata Indica near Khopoli and fled to different parts of the country to evade arrest.Omraje Nimbalkar, who was 22 when his father was killed, later entered politics through the Shiv Sena. In the 2009 Assembly election, he defeated Rana Jagjitsinh Patil, son of Padmasinh Patil and nephew of Sunetra Pawar, from Osmanabad. Five years later, Rana Jagjitsinh defeated Omraje while contesting on an NCP ticket.Rana Jagjitsinh subsequently joined the BJP and is currently the MLA from Tuljapur. Omraje, meanwhile, shifted his focus to parliamentary politics and has since been elected twice to the Lok Sabha from Osmanabad.When Eknath Shinde split the Shiv Sena in 2022, Omraje remained with Uddhav Thackeray. The murder of Pawanraje Nimbalkar was among the most sensational political killings in Maharashtra's history, but the twists and turns of the state's politics have proved no less dramatic.