UBT Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut had alleged that Omraje Bhupalsinh Nimbalkar was lured with a “favourable verdict” in his father Pawan Raje Nimbalkar’s murder case to switch over to Shinde Sena.
“Let the verdict in my father’s murder come. What is the purpose of a son’s life? Why did I enter politics? I am seeking justice for my father,” Shiv Sena (UBT) Lok Sabha MP Omraje Nimbalkar told a prominent English daily earlier this week when asked whether he had joined the group of dissident UBT Sena MPs.
The Dharashiv Lok Sabha MP was one of the six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs who remained undecided on defecting to Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and was awaiting the verdict in his father Pawanraje Nimbalkar’s murder case.
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That verdict is out now and the special CBI court in Mumbai today acquitted all the accused, including former Maharashtra Home Minister and ex-NCP leader Padamsinh Patil.
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Patil is the elder brother of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Suntleta Pawar and his acquittal may have a bearing on the rebellion by six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs.
UBT Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut had alleged that Omraje Bhupalsinh Nimbalkar was lured with a “favourable verdict” in his father Pawan Raje Nimbalkar’s murder case to switch over to Shinde Sena.
However, with the court acquitting all the accused, the success of the so-called ‘Operation Tiger’, a political manoeuvre to break Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, now depends on Omraje’s decision.
20 वर्षे 13 दिवस संघर्षाची , अपेक्षा न्यायाची.
माझे वडील पवनराजे निंबाळकर साहेब व त्यांचे चालक समद काझी यांची निष्ठूर हत्या होऊन सुमारे 20 वर्षे झाली. अजूनही आम्ही दोन्ही कुटुंबीय न्याय होण्याच्या प्रतीक्षेत आहोत. आज न्यायदेवता न्याय करणार आणि ज्यांनी रक्ताच्या नात्याला काळीमा… pic.twitter.com/hSDhHrwIuy
— Omprakash Rajenimbalkar (@OmRajenimbalkr) June 16, 2026
As of now, six of the nine Shiv Sena MPs, including Omraje, are speculated to switch over to Shinde Sena. If Omraje decides to stay with Uddhav Thackeray’s party, the entire operation will derail and the remaining five rebel MPs would face the risk of expulsion since they need a 1/3rd majority to avoid action under the anti-defection law.
Omraje Nimbalkar’s father, Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar, and his driver Samad Abdul Wahid Kazi, were shot to death in 2006 by contract killers.
It was alleged that Patil was behind the murder. The NCP leader allegedly gave a contract to the killers to eliminate the Shiv Sena UBT MP’s father.
After a long trial that lasted for 15 years, the CBI court acquitted the accused, concluding that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges with sufficient evidence.
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