Dabholkar case: Pune court turns down Bhave’s bail plea

Bail cannot be granted considering the antecedent and the role of the accused in the case, said additional sessions judge SR Navander while pronouncing the order

A special court in Pune denied bail to Vikram Bhave, an accused in the murder case of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, on Tuesday.

Pune, India,June 16_ Narendra Dabholkar murder on Maharshi Ramji Shinde Bridge near Onkareshwar mandir in Pune, India, on Saturday, June 16, 2007. (HT Photo / Hindustan Times)...File photo (HT PHOTO)

“Bail cannot be granted considering the antecedent and the role of the accused in the case. About your point on the admissibility of a confessional statement, admissibility is a part of the trial,” said additional sessions judge SR Navander while pronouncing the order.

The judge also said that Bhave’s role in a previous case cannot be overlooked while denying his bail. Bhave has been convicted in a blast case in Thane in 2008. Bhave was among the two people convicted in the case and sentenced to rigorous imprisonment in August 2011. However, he was granted bail.

Bhave was arrested in May 2019 with Sanathan Sanstha member and advocate Sanjeev Punalekar by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Punalekar was later granted bail.