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Pune court rejects Vikram Bhave’s bail plea in Dabholkar murder case
Along with the conspiracy to murder Dabholkar, Punalekar has been accused by the CBI of advising accused Sharad Kalaskar, one of the two alleged assailants of Dabholkar, on how to destroy the firearm used in the assassination.
A special court in Pune on Saturday denied bail to Sanatan Sanstha member Vikram Bhave, an associate of advocate Sanjeev Punalekar, arrested in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.
Additional district judge RM Pande rejected the bail plea of Bhave, who was arrested for allegedly helping assailants in identifying the spot where the rationalist was shot dead on August 20, 2013. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), two assailants Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar came on a motorbike and shot Dabholkar while he was returning home from morning walk.
While Bhave was arrested with Punalekar, the latter was granted bail by the Pune court earlier on July 5. The CBI had charged Bhave for conducting a recce of the place and giving information to the murderers of Dabholkar about his whereabouts and location. While opposing the bail plea, CBI counsel Prakash Suryawanshi said that Bhave had taken, “Kalaskar and Andure to the spot where Dabholkar was shot dead and helped the suspect to escape from the route.”
After the bail order, Suryawanshi said, “The order was not ready so I could not get a chance to read, but I am told that court rejected the bail plea as there is prima facie case against the suspect.”
Along with the conspiracy to murder Dabholkar, Punalekar has been accused by the CBI of advising accused Sharad Kalaskar, one of the two alleged assailants of Dabholkar, on how to destroy the firearm used in the assassination.
According to the CBI, Kalaskar, who is also an accused in the 2017 murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, had heeded advocate Punalekar’s advice and dumped four pistols, including the one used to kill Lankesh in the Thane creek.
