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Dabholkar murder case: Sisters of accused record statements before court
Dabholkar, while on a morning walk, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants near Omkareshwar Bridge at Shaniwar Peth in Pune on August 20, 2013
The sisters of arrested accused Sharad Kalaskar and Sachin Andure deposed before the court on Friday in connection with rationalist Narendra Dabholkar murder case.
Additional sessions judge PP Jadhav fixed January 16 for the examination of defence witnesses in the case.
The two defence witnesses identified as Suvarna Jitendra Aher and Deepali Umesh Chalse appeared before the court and recorded their statements in the ongoing case, the trial of which is now reaching its conclusion.
Aher is a teacher from Nashik and is the sister of accused Sharad. In her statement, she said, “August 2013 was the Rakshabandhan festival and a day earlier I had come to Aurangabad. Early in the morning, I tied Rakhi to my brother Sharad. After that, he went straight to the field.”
Deepali hails from Akola and is Sachin’s elder sister. In her statement, Chalse said, “She saw Sachin’s photo on various news television channels. On that day between 6 and 7 am, Andure came to her house in Akola, took rest and later discussed about love marriage with a woman outside their caste from his college.
“Sachin asked me to intervene and convince my father, which I rejected. Due to my stand, he was disappointed and left the home without having lunch,” she told the court.
The defence witnesses were presented by advocates Virendra Ichalkaranjikar and Prakash Salsingikar.
CBI special public prosecutor Prakash Suryanvanshi said, “The cross-examination will begin once the statement recording process is complete. The next date of hearing is January 16.”
The CBI in September had submitted its final report to the court recommending the discharge of the three accused — Amol Kale, Rakesh Bangera and Amit Digwekar — claiming that it could not find any “prosecutable evidence” against them.
The trial in the murder case is nearing completion, but the mastermind behind the killing remains at large.
The trial is currently conducted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and five accused have been charged in the case, but the murder weapon has not yet been recovered.
Dabholkar, while on a morning walk, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants near Omkareshwar Bridge at Shaniwar Peth on August 20, 2013. The rationalist, founder of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), dedicated his life to eradication social evils, religious superstition and the caste system.
