A special investigation team will be set up to probe the murder of journalist Shashikant Warishe in Ratnagiri district earlier this week, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday.

Warishe (48) was mowed down by an SUV allegedly driven by land dealer Pandharinath Amberkar on February 6 and died in hospital the next day.

Amberkar, arrested for murder, allegedly used to threaten any person who opposed land acquisition for a proposed refinery in the area.

An article written by Warishe against Amberkar had appeared in a local Marathi newspaper on the morning of the incident, which took place near a petrol pump in Rajapur, some 440 kilometres from Mumbai.

A statement released from Fadnavis' office said the police administration in the state has been directed to set up the SIT.

The SIT will be headed by a high-ranking official, the statement from the Deputy CM's office said.

Journalists in Mumbai had protested near Mantralaya on Friday and had sought the formation of an SIT as well as slapping of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the accused.

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