Focus on arms dealer,but involvement not confirmed yet

The Pune police recently took him in remand along with his three aides — Rahul Sakharam Mali (22),Vilasram Avtar Khandelwal (22),Santosh alias Sunny Ananta Bagade (22) — for allegedly murdering a security guard at University of Pune (UoP) last year.

Earlier,Nagori’s custody was with the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS),which had arrested him along with one Ravindra alias Gotya Mane in October under the Arms Act. Before that,he had been arrested by the Thane police crime branch,along with Mali,Khandelwal,Bagade and one Heena Pathan,on August 24 for allegedly demanding extortion money of Rs 15 lakh from a Mumbra-based businessman.

Investigation by the ATS and the Thane police has so far not revealed Nagori’s links to the Dabholkar’s murder case. Still,according to sources in the department,the Pune police,while investigating the security guard’s murder,are also questioning Nagori and the other three about Dabholkar’s murder.

Evading a comment on the Dabholkar murder case,Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shahji Solunkhe said: “Nagori is a notorious illegal arms dealer. The probe has revealed that he has supplied firearms to a large number of people in the past. He is currently being interrogated and we expect to get more facts from him in the coming days.”

Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjivkumar Singhal said nobody had been arrested in the Dabholkar case till now. He,however,claimed that the probe was proceeding in the right direction.

Investigators have questioned several illegal firearms dealers on police record in connection with Dabholkar’s murder. Police sources said Nagori,Mali,Khandelwal and Bagade hailed from Ichalkaranji in Kolhapur district. Nagori,an arms dealer with with inter-state links,was earlier booked by the Kolhapur and Satara police too.

Last week,in reply to a petition filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar,the crime branch of Pune police had filed an affidavit before the Bombay High Court saying there was no evidence to support the allegations of involvement of Hindu extremists in Dabholkar’s murder,and hence there was no need to hand over the probe to the National Investigation Agency.

Home Minister R R Patil had then said no evidence against the Hindu extremists in Dabholkar murder did not mean the police had given a clean chit to anyone.