Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
Journalism of Courage
Premium
‘Threat to rationalists remains’: Narendra Dabholkar family to move Supreme Court after convict gets bail
Dr Hamid said the murders of his father, Narendra Dabholkar, and Govind Pansare, M M Kalburgi, and Gauri Lankesh were interconnected.
Hamid also pointed out that CBI is yet to challenge the acquittal of the three people by the Pune court in the 2024 judgment. (File/Express Photo by Pavan Khengre)
A day after Sharad Kalaskar, one of the two men convicted in the 2013 murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar, was granted bail by the Bombay High Court, the rationalist’s son, Dr Hamid, Thursday called the development disappointing and said they would move the Supreme Court to challenge the order.
Hamid also pointed out that the investigation agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), is yet to challenge the acquittal of the three people by the Pune court in the 2024 judgment.
The Bombay High Court Wednesday granted bail to Kalaskar, casting doubt on his identification as the assailant.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Dr Hamid said the murders of Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M M Kalburgi, and Gauri Lankesh were interconnected. “The chargesheets in all these cases clearly reflect this, and it has been brought out before the court. The mastermind behind these crimes has not yet been arrested. It was a larger conspiracy against rationalist thought,” he said.
“In this background, it is very disappointing that the accused are getting bail. We, as a family, will appeal in the Supreme Court against this ruling.”
“Till the time all the perpetrators in the murders of Dabholkar, Pansare, Kalburgi, and Gauri Lankesh are brought to justice, and the masterminds are behind bars and convicted, the threat to rationalist thought remains. We will continue to fight the battle for justice within the constitutional framework. We as (Dabholkars) are going to approach the Supreme Court, because CBI has not yet appealed the acquittal of Tawade, Punalekar and Bhave by the Pune Court.”
In its May 2024 judgement, a Special Court for UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) cases in Pune had acquitted ENT surgeon Dr Virendrasinh Tawade, Mumbai-based lawyer Sanjeev Punalekar, and his aide Vikram Bhave for lack of evidence. The court convicted the two alleged assailants, Sachin Prakashrao Andure and Kalaskar, and sentenced them to life imprisonment.
Story continues below this ad
Dr Dabholkar, who was 67 at the time, was shot dead by two bike-borne assailants on the VR Shinde bridge in Pune on the morning of August 20 in 2013. The murder, which sent shockwaves across the country, was initially probed by Pune City Police and was later investigated by CBI from June 2014.
In 2018, CBI invoked provisions of the UAPA in the case.
The Special UAPA court tried all five accused. Tawade was chargesheeted in September 2016, Andure and Kalaskar in February 2019, and Punalekar and Bhave in November 2019. All five were alleged to have links with the Sanatan Sanstha.
Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories
Advertisement
Loading Recommendations...
Advertisement