Punalekar granted bail in Dabholkar murder case

The bail was granted by special Judge R M Pande on a bail bond of Rs 30,000 with surety in the like amount while restraining Punalekar from leaving country without the court’s permission

Sanathan Sanstha lawyer Sanjiv Punalekar, the alleged mastermind in the Dr. Narendra Dabholkar murder case was granted conditional bail on Friday by a special Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA ) court on Friday.

Dr. Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013, at about 7.20 am by two unidentified persons aged about 25 to 30 years when he was on his morning walk on the footpath of Omkareshwar Bridge behind Balgandharva Rangmandir in Pune(PTI)

The bail was granted by special Judge R M Pande on a bail bond of Rs 30,000 with surety in the like amount while restraining Punalekar from leaving country without the court’s permission.

Punalekar was directed to attend the CBI’s office in Mumbai on Monday and Thursday for three months and, thereafter, as and when summoned by the investigating agency.

He was arrested on May 25 alongwith his assistant Vikram Bhave from Mumbai and the duo was lodged at Yerawada Central Jail under judicial custody after expiry of their police custody.

According to CBI remand report, Punalekar had serious differences with the well-known rationalist and the CBI said it was able to recover one letter by the accused to Dabholkar dated 17.09.12, incriminating Punalekar.

The CBI said sustained interrogation of Punalekar in police custody was required to confront him with the large quantity of information/documents found in his laptops which contained a folder named ‘Dabholkar’.

Dr. Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013, at about 7.20 am by two unidentified persons aged about 25 to 30 years when he was on his morning walk on the footpath of Omkareshwar Bridge behind Balgandharva Rangmandir in Pune. His attackers then fled on a motorcycle.