Explained: Rationalist Narendra Dabholkhar’s murder case, in which two have been sentenced to life terms

Dabholkar’s murder and three other similar murders, that of communist leader Govind Pansare (February 2015), Kannada scholar MM Kalburgi (August 2015) and Bangalore journalist Gauri Lankesh (September 2017), had sparked nationwide debate surrounding issues of freedom of speech and various hostile forces to rational thought.

Over the years, the investigating agencies examining these cases have pointed to some similarities and the possibility of common perpetrators. Here’s a look at the case.

Who was Narendra Dabholkar?

In late 1980s, Dabholkar revitalised the superstition thought process by founding Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) after leaving his decade-long medical practice. He aggressively took on deep rooted superstitious practices and their proponents.

Over the years, while MANS continued efforts towards eradication of superstitious activities, Dabholkar made several attempts to build an anti-superstition legislative framework. He not only faced opposition by various organisations and political parties but also delays in enacting the law by the governments of the time.

Ironically, within days after his murder, the Maharashtra government cleared the pending Anti-Superstition and Black Magic ordinance, which became law in December 2013. Along with being the long-time editor of Marathi weekly Sadhana, which champions liberal thought, Dabholkar was very active in movements dedicated to scientific temperament and equality among various sections of the society.

Dabholkar was shot dead by two men at 7:20 am while he was on a morning walk on a bridge near Omkareshwar temple in Pune on August 20, 2013. He was 67.

Probe by Maharashtra police and arrest of firearms dealer

The first arrests made by Pune police were of Manish Nagori, an alleged firearms peddler, and his aide Vilas Khandelwal in January 2014. However, both of them were already in jail. The Thane Police’s Crime Branch had arrested them at 4 pm on August 20, 2013 – the same day Dabholkar was murdered – in an extortion case, hours after the Dabholkar murder.

In October 2013, Nagori and Khandelwal were transferred to custody of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and 40 illegal firearms were allegedly recovered. A ballistic examination of one of those firearms reportedly suggested that it matched with the “markings” on a cartridge seized from the Dabholkar murder spot in Pune.

After the ATS wrote to the Pune police about the cartridge, the Pune police arrested Nagori and Khandelwal and charged them with the Dabholkar murder.

When they were produced in court on January 21, 2014, they claimed that then ATS chief Rakesh Maria had offered them Rs 25 lakh for confessing to Dabholkar’s murder.

However, during later hearings, they said that their allegations against Maria were an “emotional outburst”. After a few months, both were released on bail by the court and were never chargesheeted in the case. In a recent report submitted to the court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said that no prosecutable evidence was found against the two.

CBI investigation and contradictions in chargesheet

In June 2014, the CBI took over Dabholkar murder probe following a Bombay High Court order. Based on a witness statement made by a Hindutva activist and metallurgy craftsman Sanjay Sadvilkar, the CBI arrested an ENT surgeon Dr Virendrasinh Tawade, linked to the radical outfit Sanatan Sanstha, on June 10, 2016.

Sanatan Sanstha is a Goa-based extremist organisation, which describes its mission as: “to impart spiritual knowledge to the curious in the society, inculcate religious behaviour in the masses and providing personal guidance to seekers for their spiritual uplift”. It has denied its involvement in the murders of Dabholkar and others.

CBI said then that Tawade was one of the masterminds of the conspiracy. Prior to his arrest in Dabholkar case, Tawade was arrested by Maharashtra police for the murder of communist leader Govind Pansare, who was shot near his residence in Kolhapur in February 2015.

CBI claimed that “long standing enmity/ hatred” between Dabholkar and his MANS with Sanatan Sanstha as the motive behind his murder. In the CBI’s September 2016 chargesheet against Tawade, the agency named absconding Sanatan Sanstha members Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar as the two assailants who shot Dabholkar.

But in August 2018, CBI arrested Hindutva activists Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar, and contradicting its earlier claim, the agency told the court that they were the shooters who had opened fire at Dabholkar. Both Andure and Kalaskar are also accused in the Govind Pansare murder, while Kalaskar is also an accused in the 2017 murder of Bengaluru journalist Gauri Lankesh.

In May 2019, CBI arrested Mumbai-based Sanatan Sanstha lawyer Sanjeev Punalekar and his aide Vikram Bhave. Along with Dr Tawade and the two accused assailants, these five people were chargesheeted by CBI. All the accused were allegedly linked to the Sanatan Sanstha.

The Special Court had on September 15, 2021 framed the charges against five accused, marking the beginning of the trial. All the five accused had pleaded not guilty to charges against them.

What the CBI said about the murder weapon

On the probe into the weapons used, the CBI arrested lawyer Punalekar, alleging that he had advised accused Kalaskar to destroy the firearms used in multiple murders – including that of Dabholkar and Gauri Lankesh.

According to the CBI, following Punalekar’s instructions, Kalaskar had allegedly dismantled four country-made pistols and threw the parts from a bridge into a creek near Thane on July 7 in 2018.

The CBI then hired a foreign agency to carry out a search to retrieve these weapons from the creek. In March 2020, the agency claimed to have recovered a pistol from the creek. It then said that the weapon would be examined by forensic and ballistic experts to ascertain whether it was linked to the murder. However, a CBI investigation officer told the trial court that efforts to recover the weapon used in the crime have been unsuccessful.

Question of a larger conspiracy

In a petition moved in the Supreme Court earlier this year, Dabholkar’s son Hamid and daughter Mukta argued that while five accused stood trial, the main mastermind of the crime has been absconding. The CBI’s investigation and chargesheet, until now, had pointed to Tawade being the mastermind of the crime.

During the trial, CBI investigation officer SR Singh said that allegations from Dabholkar’s family members, suggesting that the role of the higher-ups in Sanatan Sanstha was not looked into, were incorrect. He stated that CBI also recorded the statement of Sanatan Sanstha founder Dr Jayant Athawale in February 2016, but nothing incriminating was found.