Deccan Chronicle

Did 2 persons shoot at Gandhi? Plea in SC

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New Delhi, May 28: Was there a second assassin of Mahatma Gandhi? Though the police went by the theory that three bullets were fired upon him, was there a fourth bullet also which was fired by someone apart from Nathuram Godse? These questions are among several which have been raised in a petition before the Supreme Court with a plea that there is a compelling need to uncover the larger conspiracy behind the murder of Mahatma by constituti­ng a new Commission of Inquiry.

The petition also raises questions about the investigat­ion into Gandhi’s murder suggesting whether it was one of the biggest cover-up in history and also whether there was any basis to blame Vinayak Damodar Savarkar for his death? The plea by Dr Pankaj Phadnis, a researcher and a trustee of Abhinav Bharat, Mumbai, has claimed that the Justice J.L. Kapur Commission of Inquiry set up in 1966 had not been able to unearth the entire conspiracy that culminated in the killing of the Father of the Nation.

Phadnis has also questioned the three bullet theory relied upon by various courts of law to hold the conviction of accused, including Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte, who were hanged to death on November 15, 1949, while Savarkar was given the benefit of doubt due to lack of evidence.

Inspired by Savarkar, Abinav Bharat, Mumbai, was set up in 2001 and it claims to work for the socially and economical­ly weaker section with a focus on bridging the digital divide.

Phadnis claimed that his research and media reports of those days suggested that four bullets were pumped into Gandhi and the difference between three and four shots was material as the pistol by which Godse shot Mahatma on January 30, 1948 had a seven bullet chamber and the remaining four unspent bullets were recovered by the police.

THE PLEA also raises questions about the investigat­ion into Gandhi’s murder suggesting whether it was one of the biggest cover-up in history and also whether there was any basis to blame Vinayak Damodar Savarkar for his death?

 ??  ?? Mahatama Gandhi
Mahatama Gandhi

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