A special court in Mumbai on Saturday acquitted all the accused, including former home minister of Maharashtra Padmasinh Bajirao Patil, in the 2006 murder case of Maharashtra Congress leader Pawanraje Nimbalkar, saying the prosecution had failed to prove the chain of conspiracy.The court added that the testimony of the prosecution’s prime witness was unreliable as there were contradictions in his statements. It also came down heavily on the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which probed the case, for failing to gather crucial digital evidence, such as the mobile phones and call detail records (CDRs) of the accused in such a high profile murder case.However, the CBI will challenge the acquittal order in the Bombay High Court, sources aware of the development said.The acquittal has also evoked a slew of political reactions across parties, as Nimbalkar’s son, Omraje Nimbalkar, is among the six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs, who have reportedly formed a breakaway group and are apparently in touch with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.Reacting to the court’s verdict, Omraje said, “It has now become clear that there were flaws in the investigation conducted by the state police. We had demanded that the investigation be handed over to the CBI. Nearly three years had passed before the case was transferred to them.”“The CBI conducted a thorough investigation into this matter. We will approach the High Court after reading the full text of the verdict. If all the accused are being acquitted, then the question of who actually killed Pawanraje Nimbalkar still confronts my family. The verdict on the murder case has been delivered, yet it does not clarify who committed the murder,” he added.On June 19, Omraje had said that he would indicate his next step only after the trial court’s verdict in his father’s murder case.When asked again about his next step, he said, “I will clarify my political stance after consulting with the public within the next two days. I could have left when the Shiv Sena split in 2022. Therefore, it is unfair to level accusations against me regarding my departure now…Regardless of my political decision, I have never spoken against Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray, now will I speak against them in future.”Omraje, along with five other ‘rebel’ Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs, had skipped the party’s Parliamentary unit’s meeting earlier this week, leading to speculations regarding their status.Meanwhile, reacting to the verdict, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, said, “This is a highly unfortunate incident that all accused have been acquitted….CM Devendra Fadnavis and I have spoken with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and he has said that the CBI will approach the High Court and make an appeal against the judgment, and fight the case.”Taking a dig at the Shiv Sena (UBT), Shah, at an event in Kolhapur, said, “Earlier people used to say ‘Shiv Sena faction’ after Eknath Shinde’s name. Now, there is no faction. There is only one Shiv Sena.”Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai said that ‘rebel’ MP Omraje Nimbalkar might be experiencing a “state of shock” following the acquittal of all nine accused in the double murder case of his father, Pawanraje Nimbalkar, by a Mumbai court.Desai referenced media reports suggesting that Nimbalkar had received certain promises before the verdict.Pawanraje and his driver Samad Kazi were on their way from Mumbai to Osmanabad (now Dharashiv) on June 3, 2006, when two hitmen intercepted their car at Kalamboli in Navi Mumbai and opened fire, killing both of them on the spot.Pawanraje’s cousin and former NCP MP Padmasinh Bajirao Patil (now 86) were among those who faced the murder trial. The investigation was later transferred to the CBI on the orders of the Bombay High Court.After conducting a thorough investigation, the CBI had filed a chargesheet on August 20, 2009, and a supplementary chargesheet on June 4, 2010, against nine accused, including Patil. During the course of the trial, one accused was made approver.According to the CBI sources, on the basis of the strong evidence against the accused that the agency had brought out, it will challenge the trial court’s judgment before the Bombay High Court.Besides Patil, who is the former home minister of Maharashtra and stepbrother of Maharashtra Deputy CM Jattvibeetra Pawar; other accused in the case included Latur-based businessman Satish Mandade, former BJP corporator and retired state excise inspector Mohan Shukla, Parasmal Jain, former excise inspector Shashikant Kulkarni, BSP worker Kailash Yadav and alleged shooters Dinesh Tiwari, Pintu Singh and Chote Pandey.