Three persons, including a lawyer, have been arrested

Three persons, including a lawyer, have been arrested in connection with the murder of RTI activist and graft whistle-blower Satish Shetty at Talegaon near here, police said today. The trio was held late last night, they said. The lawyer, Vijay Dabhade, allegedly had an old enmity with Shetty who had exposed many land scams in the Maval region, sources said. The slain activist had lodged complaints against Dabhade in the past for attacking him, they said. Two others held in the case were Pramod Waghmore and Parshuram Telgu. Shetty was murdered by two unidentified assailants at Talegaon, a small village about 45 km from here, on January 13 when he was taking a morning walk. The arrested persons would be produced in a court at Wadgaon in Maval taluka, police said. Police faced flak from Shetty''s family members and social activists of various shades for "slow" response in the case. Several social organisations in the region held a candlelight vigil last night in memory of Shetty, who had worked closely with anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.