Rekha Jare Murder: Journalist Bal Bothe still at large; office colleagues to be questioned
Pune: Journalist and advocate Bal J Bothe, the mastermind and prime suspect in Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) activist Rekha Jare murder case is still at large. Even after 22 days of his name surfacing in this high profile crime case, Nagar police are unable to trace him.
Now police have sought help from the forensic lab in Mumbai to unlock Bothe’s iPhone handset. Police have also started questioning his office colleagues and other persons in contact with him before he absconded.
Bothe had filed for an anticipatory bail application in the sessions court, however his application was rejected. Meanwhile, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Suresh Lagad has sought an independent investigation into the disproportionate property assets of Bothe.
Rekha Bhausaheb Jare (39) was also the President of Yashaswini Mahila Brigade. She was murdered by two motorcycle-borne persons in Ahmednagar district on November 30 at around 8.20 pm on the Pune-Nagar Highway. Jare was travelling from Pune to Ahmednagar in a car along with her mother, son and a friend when the incident happened. Investigations conducted by Nagar police revealed that senior journalist Bothe was the mastermind and paid blood money to other suspects to execute her.
The suspects had chased the vehicle in which Rekha Jare was travelling and they stopped her vehicle by parking their two-wheeler in the middle of the road on November 30 night. She was called on the road after which her throat was slit with a knife.
Police have arrested Feroze Raju Shaikh (26) of Rahuri, Dnyaneshwar Shivaji Shinde (24) of Shrirampur, Aditya Cholke (25) of Kolhar, Sagar Bhingardive (31) of Kedgaon and Rishikesh Pawar (23) from Pravaranagar in this case so far. Bhingardive revealed during interrogation that Bothe had paid blood money to him to execute Jare.
When Bothe’s name was made public, he fled from his house. His location was traced to a lodge in Nashik but by the time the police team reached there he had left that location. Bothe filed an anticipatory bail application through advocate Mahesh Tawade on Monday (December 7).
The court had asked the public prosecutor and the investigating officer to file their say on the bail application. Later police had opposed the bail and the application was rejected by the court. Nagar police had conducted searches in Shirdi, Nashik and other cities and also interrogated Bothe’s friends and close ones to figure out who was helping him.