Pune police, CBI failed to unearth Dabholkar case masterminds: Court
PUNE: A Maharashtra special court, which on Friday convicted two of the five accused in the murder of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar, came down heavily on the Pune Police and the Central Bureau of Investigation for failing to unearth the masterminds behind the crime.
In its 170-page order, the special court for Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) cases observed that Dabholkar’s murder was not an exclusive act of Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar, the two convicted shooters.
“The main mastermind behind the crime is someone else. Pune police as well as CBI have failed to unearth those masterminds. They have to introspect whether it is their failure or deliberate action on their part due to influence by any other person in power,” additional sessions judge PP Jadhav observed.
Regarding the acquittal of the three other accused, the court said there was evidence of motive for Dabholkar’s murder against Virendrasinh Tawade, and reasonable suspicion against Sanjiv Punalekar and Vikram Bhave for their involvement in the crime. However, it said the prosecution failed to convert motive and suspicion into evidence establishing their involvement in the crime.
Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar, who allegedly shot Dabholkar while he was on a morning walk in Pune on 20 August 2013, were sentenced to life imprisonment. The three other accused, Virendrasinh Tawade, Sanjiv Punalekar and Vikram Bhave, were acquitted for lack of evidence, said additional sessions judge PP Jadhav.
The murder of Dabholkar, a well-known anti-superstition crusader, was the first in a chain of similar killings of three other rationalists and activists: Communist Party of India leader Govind Pansare in Kolhapur in February 2015, Kannada-language scholar MM Kalburgi in Dharwad in August 2015, and journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru in September 2017.
In his order, judge Jadhav noted that there was evidence about motive for the murder against Tawade, and reasonable suspicion against Punalekar and Bhave regarding involvement in the crime. But the prosecution failed to establish the same by converting the motive and suspicion into evidence, the order said. As to Andure and Kalaskar, it was proved beyond reasonable doubt that they shot Dabholkar dead in Pune city on August 20, 2013, the court said. The prosecution also failed to prove the offences under section 16 (`punishment for terrorist act’) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC against any of the accused, it said.
Except ideological differences, Andure and Kalaskar had no personal enmity or rivalry with Dabholkar, the court noted.
“The murder is committed with a very well prepared plan, which was executed by Andure and Kalaskar. Considering the economic and social status of both the convicts, they are not the masterminds .... The mastermind behind the murder is someone else. Pune police as well as CBI has failed to unearth those masterminds. They have to introspect whether it is their failure or deliberate inaction on their part due to influence by any person in power,” the order said.
The judge also rapped the federal investigation agency for “negligence” while invoking provisions of UAPA. “There were charges framed under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the case. However, the way the competent officer exhibited negligence while invoking provisions of UAPA in the case, the charges could not be proved.”