Latest news with #Dabholkar
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
MANS again questions CBI for not appealing acquittals in Dabholkar murder case
The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) on Wednesday has once again questioned why the Central Bureau of Investigation has not appealed the acquittal of three accused in the murder case of Dr Narendra Dabholkar in the High Court. Two accused Sharad Kalaskar and Sachin Andure were found guilty for the murder by a special Pune court in May 2024, but Virendrasinh Tawde, Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave were acquitted due to lack of evidence. All accused have links to Sanatan Sanstha. Dabholkar's family had termed the delay in filing the appeal 'inexcusable' in August 2024 as well. At a press conference in Pune on Wednesday presided by Dabholkar's son Dr Hamid Dabholkar, Milind Deshmukh, Nandini Jadhav, Shripal Lalwani, and Anil Velhal, MANS claimed that the masterminds of the murder are still at large and no efforts are being made by the government to arrest them. It said that the court's observation 'Dr Narendra Dabholkar's murder was a well-planned conspiracy to end his ideas' was being ignored. It claimed that action was not being taken against masterminds in the murder cases of Govind Pansare, Prof M Kalburgi, and journalist Gauri Lankesh too. MANS highlighted that the threat to rational activists will remain unchanged until the masterminds are caught. The organisation also demanded that the Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Act, which was enacted in Maharashtra after the murder of Dabholkar, must be implemented across the country, keeping in mind the increasing incidents of witchcraft across the country. This year, the Dr Narendra Dabholkar Memorial Lecture will be delivered by retired Supreme Court Judge Abhay Oak on the topic 'The Constitution of India and Scientific Perspective'. on August 17 at 6 pm at the Sane Guruji Smarak on Sinhagad Road. Retired Supreme Court Judge Hemant Gokhale will preside over the event. A set of 5 books on Dr Dabholkar will be launched by former IPS officer Meeran Chadda-Borwankar on August 20 at 6 pm at the same location. Sharad Baviskar, JNU professor and author of the famous autobiography Bhura, and Prabhakar Nanavati, editor of Narendra Dabholkar Granthamala, will be present as the chief guests.
Hindustan Times
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
2013 Pune murder: Dabholkar murder convict tells HC there's no evidence against him
MUMBAI: Sharad Kalaskar, 31, who was convicted in May 2024 by a Pune trial court for the 2013 murder of rationalist and anti-superstition activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, told the Bombay High Court on Thursday that no prima facie case had been established against him during the investigation and that no evidence was led against him at trial. 2013 Pune murder: Dabholkar murder convict tells HC there's no evidence against him Kalaskar has filed an appeal against his conviction and sought bail before a division bench of justice Suman Shyam and justice Shyam Chandak. Appearing on Kalaskar's behalf, advocate Nitin Pradhan argued that the prosecution had failed to produce any evidence linking his client to the Sanatan Sanstha, a Hindu nationalist organisation that has been under scrutiny for its alleged role in the murder. Dr Dabholkar, founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), was shot dead on the morning of August 20, 2013, during a routine walk in Pune. The killing was allegedly carried out by two men on a motorcycle, later identified as Kalaskar and Sachin Andure—both reportedly affiliated with the Sanstha. While both were convicted earlier this year, the court had also criticised investigative agencies for failing to identify the masterminds behind the plot. Sanatan Sanstha has also been linked to the killings of other prominent rationalists and thinkers, including CPI leader Govind Pansare and scholar MM Kalburgi. In the Dabholkar case, three other accused—Virendrasingh Tawade, Sanjeev Punalkar and Vikram Bhave—were acquitted due to lack of evidence. During Thursday's hearing, Kalaskar's counsel questioned several aspects of the investigation and trial. He submitted that the firearm allegedly used in the crime was recovered in August 2013 at the instance of two other individuals—Vikas Khandelwal and Manish Nagori—but neither the weapon nor the duo were mentioned in the chargesheet or examined during trial. Though the firearm was sent for forensic testing, the prosecution failed to establish any ballistic link between the gun and the pellets recovered from Dr Dabholkar's body, Kalaskar claimed. He also argued that key police officers involved in registering the FIR and conducting the investigation were not examined by the prosecution, and thus could not be cross-examined during trial. Kalaskar further pointed out that several alleged conspirators had been acquitted and that the weapon said to have been used in the shooting was never formally introduced as evidence during the trial. The high court has posted the matter for further hearing on August 21.
