Delay in Dabholkar case angers HC
The Bombay High Court on Friday expressed unhappiness over the “tardy investigation” by both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the murder cases of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare. The court pulled up both the investigating agencies after they informed that they were unable to get analysis of ballistic reports on the weapons used in both the murders from Scotland Yard.
A division bench of Justices S.C. Dharmadhikari and B.P. Colabawalla was hearing the petition filed by families of both the deceased on the status of investigation. After the agencies submitted the status report in sealed envelopes, the court after reading it observed that a lot of time and energy had been wasted by the agencies in investigating the cases.
The report was submitted in sealed envelopes with a request that the contents should not be disclosed to anyone.
Advocate Anil Singh, additional solicitor general on behalf of CBI, told the court, “Since we did not get cooperation from the UK, we have received the analysis report from forensics science laboratory in Gujarat.”
He also told the court that that in the absence of a sanction from the United Kingdom’s Home Department, CBI despite continuous follow up with Scotland Yard, had been unable to obtain the analysis of ballistic reports on the weapons used in both the murders.
Advocate Ashok Mundergi, counsel for SIT, which is probing the Pansare murder, informed the court that it had made inroads in the case and efforts were on to wrap up the investigations. “We have identified two absconding suspects and are on track as far as investigation is concerned,” he said. The agencies sought two weeks time to submit the next report.