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Dabholkar murder case: Pune court remands lawyer, aide to CBI custody till June 1
Advocate Sanjiv Punalekar, and his associate Vikram Bhave were arrested by CBI on Saturday. Both are accused of being involved in the murder
A local court in Pune on Sunday remanded Sanjiv Gajanan Punalekar, advocate, and his associate Vikram Bhave, who were arrested in the Dabholkar murder on Saturday to CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) custody till June 1.
Dabholkar, the founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), was gunned down by two bike-borne assailants on August 20, 2013, in Pune when he was returning from his morning walk.
The two accused were produced before the vacation bench of sessions judge SN Sonawane on Sunday.
Punalekar was arrested on the allegation of helping in “dismantling of the weapon” used in and conspiracy of the Dabholkar murder. While Bhave was arrested for helping the two assailants by conducting a recce of the area where Dabholkar was killed, providing a route map and helping them escape after the murder, according to advocate Prakash Suryavanshi, special public prosecutor (SPP) in the Dabholkar murder case.
The two shooters have been identified as Sharad Kalaskar and Sachin Andure, both from Aurangabad by the CBI, in a chargesheet dated February 13, 2019.
Suryavanshi said, “Punalekar also advised Kalaskar to throw away the weapon used in the murder of journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh. That was among the four weapons Kalaskar threw off a bridge in Thane on Punalekar’s advice.
The arrests were made based on a statement made by Kalaskar who was charged for the murder of a journalist, activist Gauri Lankesh, by the Karnataka Special Investigation Team (SIT) in 2018. The chargesheet by Karnataka SIT refers to a statement by Kalaskar that defines the two arrested men’s role in the Dabholkar murder.
“Sharad Kalaskar shared with Sanjiv Punalekar about his role in the murder of Narendra Dabholkar. Sanjiv Punalekar told Saharad Kalaskar to destroy the firearms used in murder cases including the murder of Gauri Lankesh on July 23, 2018,” read a document submitted by the CBI in the court.
“Sharad Kalaskar dismantled four country-made pistols and threw it from a bridge in Thane creek while on the way to Nalasopara while returning from Pune,” the document further reads.
However, Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, defence lawyer advocate asked, “If I (as an accused) had to dismantle and throw away the evidence, why will I store the other weapons in the Nalasopara location? Why will I only throw away four weapons?”
Meanwhile, the defence also asked for visual proof of Bhave’s involvement. While speaking for himself in the court, Punalekar said, “I have been questioned by the CBI for three days, and Bhave was questioned for two days, before he was arrested.”
Meanwhile, Punalekar has requested the court to deny his custody as he was co-operating with the investigation.