Key accused trained in Maha, K’taka: CBI

PUNE: The Central Bureau of Investigation told a court in Pune on Sunday that Sachin Andure, 26, arrested on Saturday under suspicion of murdering anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar in 2013, allegedly received “training to shoot” at multiple places in Maharashtra and Karnataka. Special judge Archana S Mujumdar remanded Andure to seven days police custody till August 26.

The CBI also alleged that Andure, the alleged shooter in the case, conspired with Virendra Tawde, who was arrested in the case on June 10, 2016.

Andure was arrested by the CBI on Saturday and was produced before the Shivajinagar court on Sunday afternoon.

Seeking Andure’s custody, CBI counsel Vijaykumar Dhakane, said, “The agency wants to find out exactly where did Andure undergo arms training and who imparted it.”

Andure was arrested by the CBI after his name cropped up during the interrogation of Sharad Kalaskar by the state’s anti-terrorism squad (ATS).

The ATS had arrested Kalaskar and Vaibhav Raut from Nallasopara in Thane, and Sudhwana Gondalekar from Pune, on August 10, for allegedly planning major terrorist activities in the state.

The CBI counsel, in his submission to the court, stated that Andure is “one of the two shooters” who shot and killed Dabholkar.

“The entire conspiracy was hatched by Virendra Tawde along with the accused and others. The entire conspiracy needs to be unearthed for which the custodial interrogation of the suspect is required,” said Dhakane.

Andure’s lawyer Prakash Salsingikar, in his submission before the court, said that the CBI had taken signatures on nine sets of documents from Andure and that he was being framed in the case and falsely implicated.

Salsingikar said the names of Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar had already been mentioned as “shooters” in the Dabholkar chargesheet filed against Tawde. Akolkar and Pawar are alleged sympathisers of Sanatan Sanstha,and are currently absconding.

“After the collapse of the arrests of Manish Khandelwal and Vikas Nagori, the high court had reprimanded the investigating agencies. There is no material evidence against the accused and the chargesheet against Andure must be produced before the court,” said Salsingikar.