Narendra Dabholkar. Credit: Facebook
New Delhi: Eight years after Maharashtra-based
rationalist and social activist Narendra Dabholkar was murdered in broad
daylight, a Pune special court on September 7 will pass orders on
framing charges against five members linked to the far-right
organisation Sanatan Sanstha.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which took over the probe
from Pune police in 2014, has urged special judge S.R. Nawandar to
charge five accused persons in the case with offences of murder,
criminal conspiracy and committing terror acts under the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
However, during the course of the hearing, the CBI probe had run into
contention when the defence counsel highlighted the investigating
agency’s conflicting claims about the alleged assailants in three
separate chargesheets.
Dabholkar had been
receiving death threats before he was shot down during his morning walk
by two men on August 20, 2013. The CBI arrested five people – ENT
surgeon Dr Virendrasinh Tawade, the two alleged assassins Sachin Andure
and Sharad Kalaskar, Mumbai-based lawyer Sanjeev Punalekar and his aide
Vikram Bhave – all of whom were allegedly associated with Sanatan
Sanstha. Punalekar and Bhave are currently out on bail, while the other
three are in prison.
New Delhi:
Eight years after Maharashtra-based rationalist and social activist
Narendra Dabholkar was murdered in broad daylight, a Pune special court
on September 7 will pass orders on framing charges against five members
linked to the far-right organisation Sanatan Sanstha.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which took over the probe
from Pune police in 2014, has urged special judge S.R. Nawandar to
charge five accused persons in the case with offences of murder,
criminal conspiracy and committing terror acts under the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
However, during the course of the hearing, the CBI probe had run into
contention when the defence counsel highlighted the investigating
agency’s conflicting claims about the alleged assailants in three
separate chargesheets.
Dabholkar had been
receiving death threats before he was shot down during his morning walk
by two men on August 20, 2013. The CBI arrested five people – ENT
surgeon Dr Virendrasinh Tawade, the two alleged assassins Sachin Andure
and Sharad Kalaskar, Mumbai-based lawyer Sanjeev Punalekar and his aide
Vikram Bhave – all of whom were allegedly associated with Sanatan
Sanstha. Punalekar and Bhave are currently out on bail, while the other
three are in prison.
LiveLaw reported
that the CBI counsel Prakash Suryavanshi urged the court to try the
accused persons under UAPA on the basis of statements given by five
witnesses, a businessman from Kolhapur who allegedly provided the murder
weapon, a country-made pistol, and Dabholkar’s family members.
Suryavanshi also cited a sketch in Sanatan Sanstha’s mouthpiece ‘Sanatan
Prabhat’ showing Dabhokar being slain.
On the other hand, the
defence counsel Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, while opposing the
prosecution’s plea, pointed out that the CBI had initially named Sanatan
Sanstha members Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar as assailants in one of
its chargesheets but later arrested Andure and Kalaskar for the same
offence in 2018. He said that the CBI has now curiously presented
Akolkar and Pawar as eyewitnesses. He also argued against invocation of
UAPA, citing that CBI had attempted to establish that Dabholkar was a
victim of Tawade’s “hate”, and terror acts do not apply in the case.
The next hearing will be held on September 7.
SOURCE ; THE WIRE
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(With input from news agency language)
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