The Maharashtra government on Sunday a financial aid of Rs 25 lakh will be given to the kin of journalist Shashikant Warishe who was mowed down by an SUV allegedly driven by a land dealer in Ratnagiri district.

The government will also give a permanent job to the son of the deceased, Ratnagiri district guardian minister Uday Samant said.

"A financial aid of Rs 25 lakh will be provided to journalist Warishe's family. Rs 10 lakh will be given from the chief minister's relief fund and Rs 15 lakh from other sources," Samant told reporters.

He said various organisations of journalists have been demanding that the government help the family of Warishe comprising his grandmother and son.

Warishe (48) was mowed down by an SUV allegedly driven by land dealer Pandharinath Amberkar at Rajapur, some 440 km from Mumbai, on February 6. He died in the 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.

The Maharashtra government has already ordered a probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into the alleged murder.

A day earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut had demanded that the state government provide aid of Rs 50 lakh to Warishe's kin.

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