A little over two months after an article in Outlook magazine alleged that the Pune police had used superstitious practices while investigating the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, videos of which were released subsequently, an inquiry report by the Maharashtra Police which has cleared the Pune police and its then commissioner Gulabrao Pol has been submitted to the state government. Though senior officers, including the Maharashtra Police chief, refused to talk about the findings, Dabholkar’s family and journalist Ashish Khetan, the author of the magazine’s report, have alleged that the government has tried to cover up the matter. In the videos released by Khetan, Pol is purportedly seen telling Khetan that he had met a policeman-turned-godman, Manish Thakur, who performed black magic and asked him to “call Dabholkar’s soul”. Dabholkar, an anti-superstition activist, was murdered on August 20 last year. Pol has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying the tapes were doctored. He has also filed a defamation suit against Khetan and the editor of the magazine. Khetan, now a member of the AAP, had written in the July 14 article that a team that Pol had approved of, and which comprised crime branch sleuths and retired ACP Rajendra Abhinkar besides Thakur, used a planchette and “spoke to Dabholkar’s soul” to get clues about his murder. Based on the demand by Dabholkar’s family, the state government had instituted an inquiry, which was conducted by Additional Director General V D Mishra of the Protection of Civil Rights Cell. Mishra said: “I have submitted the report to the director general of police. I cannot comment about it further.” A senior officer from the DGP office said: “The report concludes that Pol was not aware of what Thakur had done at his place in Daund. The report also concludes there is no proof that such superstitious acts were performed in the anteroom of the office of Pol in the Pune police commissionerate.We have also come to know that the report has been forwarded to the inspector general of Kolhapur range to probe whether any such superstitious acts were performed by Thakur and others. During the inquiry, statements of Pol, Abhinkar, Thakur, Khetan were recorded.” State Home Minister R R Patil said: “The report says there is no proof that any ‘planchette’ was used in the Pune police commissioner’s office. I am yet to go into the other details of the report.” Dahbolkar’s son Dr Hameed said: “The government has failed on all fronts in this case. I think if this apathy continues, we are left with only one option of approaching the court once again, asking for justice.”
