CM Devendra Fadnavis on 27th March was of the opinion that the Loya’s death was natural and that the case is being politicised. He said it was the Congress and NCP that was twisting the case to secure political gains.
Fadnavis said the media’s reports are, quote-unquote, “blatantly incorrect and imaginary.” He substantiated his opinion with a message from a forensic expert at AIIMS. He said the issue is being exaggerated and that the verdict of the Supreme Court will decide matters.
He said, “There is no question of Maharashtra’s cover-up in the case as all facts are in the public domain. Soon things will get clear.“
Fadnavis was responding to the questions raised by NCP and Congress in the Legislative Assembly. Former CM Prithviraj Chavan and NCP leader Jayant Patil demanded an investigation into the case. In June 2014, Loya was appointed as a Special CBI court judge in Mumbai. He was hearing the Sohrabuddin Sheikh murder case in which Amit Shah was also allegedly involved.
Fadnavis narrated the events before Loya’s death chronologically, Justice Loya had come to Nagpur to attend a wedding after which he returned o Ravi Bhawan at 11 p.m. He spoke to his wife on the phone some time at 11:30 and went to sleep at 1:30 a.m. At 4 a.m. he complained of having chest pain. His colleagues called local judge Vijaykumar Barde and Deputy Registrar of Nagpur bench of High Court Rupesh Rathi and took him to Dande Hospital. An ECG was conducted and it was found that he required specialised cardiac treatment and was shifted Meditrina Hospital where he died at 6:30 a.m. Two judges conveyed the news of his death to his family following which the body was taken to Loya’s village for his last rites.
In the assembly, Chavan questioned why an ‘expensive’ lawyer was recruited by the government to fight the case and Fadnavis dismissed at as an absurd argument that there was no harm in the government seeking good lawyers to get to the bottom of the case. The case though is still to be decided.