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Dabholkar murder case: Virendra Tawade’s 2nd bail plea rejected
In October 2017, Tawade’s first bail application was rejected by additional sessions court in Pune.
The court of special judge AS Bhaisare on Friday rejected the second bail application of Sanatan Sanstha member Virendra Tawade, who was arrested for his alleged role in the murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar.
Manoj Chaladan, special public prosecutor appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) argued that Tawade cannot be granted bail as the CBI is investigating his connections with Amol Kale, a native of Pune, who was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Karnataka police in the Gauri Lankesh murder case.
Tawade, an ENT surgeon and member of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS), an off-shoot of Sanatan Sanstha , was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in June 2016 from Panvel for his alleged role in Dabholkar's murder.
In October 2017, Tawade’s first bail application was rejected by additional sessions court in Pune.
The CBI has termed Tawade as a key conspirator in the case. The agency filed a charge sheet in September 2017 in a special court in Pune .His first bail plea was opposed by the CBI as they stated that Tawade may influence witnesses in the case.
Also, the two accused, Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar. were absconding and are still at large. Dabholkar was murdered on August 20, 2013 on the bridge near Omkareshwar temple, while he was out on a morning walk
After Tawade’s arrest by CBI in 2016, Kolhapur police also took custody of Tawade in connection with the murder of rationalist Govind Pansare who was shot outside his home on February 16, 2015 in Kolhapur and succumbed to his injuries four days later.
