Dr Narendra Dabholkar. File
The murders of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare were not “stray incidents” and the accused seem to have “organisational back-up,” the Bombay High Court said on Wednesday. The court also pointed out the need for making more concerted efforts to trace the absconding accused. The bench also said there was a “clear nexus” between the two killings. “It is impossible for the absconding accused to remain in hiding for so long at an individual level. These are not stray acts. The accused cannot be absconding for so long without organisational back-up. Look into where they are getting funding from,” said Justice S C Dharmadhikari, emphasising that the “security of the state was at stake here”.
A division bench, comprising Justice S C Dharmadhikari and Justice Vibha Kankanvadi, was hearing petitions by the family members who expressed dissatisfaction with the CBI probe into Dabholkar’s case and SIT investigation into Pansare’s murder. They had urged the High Court to step in and monitor the probe. Dabholkar was murdered on August 20, 2013, in Pune while Pansare was shot at on February 16 in Kolhapur and died on February 20, 2015.
The HC observations on Wednesday came after the Special Task Force (STF) and the CBI submitted their probe reports. The CBI’s Special Crime Branch (SCB) had recently announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for anyone who provided information about Sanatan Sanstha members Sarang Akolkar (35) and Vinay Baburao Pawar (37), both accused in the murder of Dabholkar.
Appearing as special counsel for the government, senior advocate Ashok Mundargi agreed with the court’s remark on the absconding accused having some backing, adding that this angle was being explored by the investigating agency. The matter is posted for hearing on September 13.
