Charges in the murder case of Narendra Dabholkar were framed on Wednesday after all five accused pleaded not guilty in a special court in Pune. While four of them will be tried for murder, criminal conspiracy, and terrorism, one will be tried for destruction of evidence.
Three of the five were identified as Virendrasinh Tawade, who appeared from Yerwada Central Jail through video conference, Sachin Andure, who appeared from Aurangabad jail and, Sharad Kalaskar, who appeared from Arthur Road jail in Mumbai. Two others -- Vikram Bhave and Advocate Sanjeev Punalekar, who are currently out on bail, were present in court.
Dabholkar, a rationalist who was against superstition, was on a walk on the morning of August 20, 2013, near Omkareshwar bridge in Pune when two bike-borne shot him dead. The investigation was taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from the state police. In the CBI’s initial charge sheet, Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar were identified as shooters. The second charge sheet identified Andure and Kalaskar as shooters.
In both the charge sheets, Tawade was identified as the main conspirator. Bhave was accused of helping the two shooters with vehicle, and escape route. Punalekar was found to have advised one of the shooters to dispose of the weapon after which Kalaskar allegedly threw parts of the weapons in the Thane creek. This information was provided by Kalaskar to the Karnataka police special investigation team (SIT) investigating the 2017 Gauri Lankesh murder in Bengaluru. Kalaskar and Andure have also been named in Lankesh’s murder. Kalaskar was also found to have been involved in the August 2018 Nalasopara arms haul by Maharashtra Anti-terrorism squad. Bhave has been convicted in a bomb blast case for possession of explosives. The CBI has also alleged a larger conspiracy by the Sanatan Sanstha, to which all the accused and their lawyer belong, to kill Dabholkar, Lankesh, and scholar MM Kalburgi in Dharwad, Karnataka, in August 2015.
{{/usCountry}}In both the charge sheets, Tawade was identified as the main conspirator. Bhave was accused of helping the two shooters with vehicle, and escape route. Punalekar was found to have advised one of the shooters to dispose of the weapon after which Kalaskar allegedly threw parts of the weapons in the Thane creek. This information was provided by Kalaskar to the Karnataka police special investigation team (SIT) investigating the 2017 Gauri Lankesh murder in Bengaluru. Kalaskar and Andure have also been named in Lankesh’s murder. Kalaskar was also found to have been involved in the August 2018 Nalasopara arms haul by Maharashtra Anti-terrorism squad. Bhave has been convicted in a bomb blast case for possession of explosives. The CBI has also alleged a larger conspiracy by the Sanatan Sanstha, to which all the accused and their lawyer belong, to kill Dabholkar, Lankesh, and scholar MM Kalburgi in Dharwad, Karnataka, in August 2015.
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“As the trial has begun, it would be appropriate that the accused are lodged in the nearest jail ie., Yerwada Central Jail. The transfer should be done immediately. The SP of Yerwada Central Jail should facilitate the transfer. One week transit time will be allowed,” said judge Satyanarayan Navander who is hearing the matter.
“The charges have been framed and further proceeding will take place starting September 30. I cannot comment on what is happening in the high court,” said special public prosecutor Prakash Suryavanshi.
The three accused lodged in different jails have expressed anguish over allegedly being kept in the dark about the court proceedings. The court order on September 7, which gave time for the accused to contact family and lawyers, was only worked upon in the last 24 hours, according to two of the accused.
Additionally, the discharge application for Bhave and Punalekar is pending.