Dabholkar-Pansare killings: Foreign experts to help CBI trace murder weapons

The division bench of justices SC Dharmadhikari and Gautam Patel was hearing a petition filed by Dabholkar’s daughter Mukta, seeking a court-supervised and expeditious investigation .

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday informed the Bombay high court (HC) that it has called upon experts from abroad to search for the weapon allegedly used to kill rationalists Dr Narendra Dabholkar and author and Communist Party of India (CPI) member, Govind Pansare.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday informed the Bombay high court (HC) that it has called upon experts from abroad to search for the weapon allegedly used to kill rationalists Dr Narendra Dabholkar and author and Communist Party of India (CPI) member, Govind Pansare.. (AFP Photo)

The division bench of justices SC Dharmadhikari and Gautam Patel was hearing a petition filed by Dabholkar’s daughter Mukta, seeking a court-supervised and expeditious investigation.

The CBI told the court that due to the magnitude of the area to be covered in the search, it had sought assistance from foreign experts and divers, who would arrive in India by August 11. In a sealed report submitted to the HC on Friday, the CBI gave the name of the foreign agency that has been engaged to retrieve the suspected murder weapons which may have been disposed of in Thane creek.

The bench was also informed by the CBI that the Maharashtra government and the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority extended all cooperation in granting clearances for the search operation.

According to the CBI, once the water at Thane Creek recedes, a temporary ramp would be constructed to facilitate the search. The search will begin on Monday and is expected to be completed within 30 days.

While the CBI is investigating Dr Dabholkar’s murder, the investigation into Pansare’s death is being probed by a special investigation team of the state police.

Officers from Kolhapur, who are investigating Pansare’s murder, were unable to attend the hearing due to the flood situation in the district.

Dr Dabholkar was shot dead near his residence in Pune when he was returning from morning walk on August 20, 2013.

Pansare and his wife were shot at in Kolhapur when they were out for morning walk on February 16, 2015. While his wife survived the attack, Pansare succumbed to his injuries four days later.