Print this article

'If Patil proved guilty, NCP will dissociate itself from him'

June 08, 2009 14:20 IST

The Nationalist Congress Party said on Monday that it will "completely dissociate" itself from party MP Padamsinh Patil, arrested in the murder case of a Maharashtra Congress leader, if the charges against him are proved.

"If the charges are proved, then the NCP will completely dissociate itself from Patil," senior NCP leader and Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told media-persons in New Delhi. He, however, noted that it was too early to comment on the involvement of the NCP MP in the crime. "As of now, the party has nothing to do with it (the case) as it is something between the investigative agencies and Patil," the Union Minister said.

Patil, an MP from Osmanabad in Marathawada region, was arrested by the CBI on Sunday in connection with the murder of Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar and his driver Samad Kazi, who were shot dead in a car in Navi Mumbai in June 2006. The CBI lawyer told a court that two of the arrested accused had claimed that Patil had given a 'supari' (contract)

for the killing of Nimbalkar, his cousin, due to business rivalry. Patil has rubbished the charge.

Speaker Meira Kumar informed the Lok Sabha on Monday about the arrest of NCP MP Padamsinh Patil in the murder case of Maharashtra Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar. Patil was arrested by the CBI on Sunday, Kumar said quoting a communication received by her from the Superintendent of Police, Central Bureau of Investigation, Mumbai. Nimbalkar and his driver Samad Kazi were shot dead in a car in Navi Mumbai in June 2006.