No help from Scotland Yard for Dabholkar, Pansare, Kalburgi murders: CBI to HC

After pursuing the Scotland Yard for months for “expert opinion” on the ballistics sample collected in the Dabholkar-Pansare and Kalburgi murders, and seeking countless adjournments on the ground, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the Bombay High Court on Friday that the United Kingdom government had refused to help.

After pursuing the Scotland Yard for months for “expert opinion” on the ballistics sample collected in the Dabholkar-Pansare and Kalburgi murders, and seeking countless adjournments on the ground, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told the Bombay High Court on Friday that the United Kingdom government had refused to help.

Appearing for the CBI that is conducting the probe into rationalist Narendra Dabholkar’s (in picture) murder, additional solicitor-general Anil Singh told the HC that the probe agency had accordingly decided to “drop the pursuit,” and instead consult an independent forensic lab in Ahmedabad. (HT)

Appearing for the CBI that is conducting the probe into rationalist Narendra Dabholkar’s murder, additional solicitor-general Anil Singh told the HC that the probe agency had accordingly decided to “drop the pursuit,” and instead consult an independent forensic lab in Ahmedabad.

Singh said, “Scotland Yard had said that while it was willing to look into the ballistics sample, it couldn’t give its opinion unless the CBI got a written agreement from the United Kingdom home department.”

“Getting such an agreement is likely to take a lot of time and thus, considering the legal and practical difficulties, we have decided to drop it,” Singh said.

It then sought eight weeks’ time from the court for further probe.

A division bench of the high court granted CBI the time but recorded its “displeasure,” saying that it is “surprised at the CBI’s submission.”

“If there was no legal agreement between the two governments, why did the CBI waste so much time?” the bench said.

CBI had first told HC that it wanted to consult the Scotland Yard in April last year and since then it had been seeking adjournments on the ground that it was yet to provide its opinion. Such opinion, it had claimed, was essential to determine whether there was a link to, or whether, the same weapons had been used in the murders of Dabholkar, Pansare, and Kannada scholar MM Kalburgi.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra SIT that is probing the murder of left leader Govind Pansare, submitted a progress report saying that it was “concentrating all efforts on arresting the two accused belonging to the right wing group, Sanatan Sanstha, named in the charge sheet in the case.”

Pansare was murdered in February 2015, Kalburgi in August 2015, and Dabholkar in August 2013.

Five empty cartridge cases were recovered from the site of Pansare’s murder and one was recovered from his body. Two empty cartridge cases from the crime scene and two bullets were recovered in Kalburgi case.

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