After the SSR case had been given to the CBI by the Supreme court, I reread few cases to find out the success rate of the CBI cases. To my amazement, I found out one of the unsolved case of Narendra Dabholkar.
He was a renowned doctor, social activist, journalist, rationalist and author from Maharashtra. He was shot from close range and killed while on a morning walk near his residence close to the Omkareshwar temple in Pune Aug 20,2013. He was 67. Out of the four bullets fired, two hit him in the neck and back. He died later at the government-run Sassoon Hospital.
India In the year of 1989 he founded and became president of the Maharashtra Andhra Shraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), they tried to eliminate the blind faith. Dabholkar didn’t believe in black magic, Babas and many other superstitious things, therefore he received several threats from many people.
His son Hamid, said he (the late Dabholkar) refused to register a complaint about the threats, saying he needed no weapons in his cause.
Whole case and Progress of the case
A fortnight after Sachin Andure along with Sharad Kalaskar allegedly shot dead Dr Narendra Dabholkar, he confessed the crime to an Aurangabad-based street-food vendor, is a key witness in the case. The vendor’s testimony is part of the CBI’s supplementary charge sheet Andure and Kalaskar that was submitted in a Pune court on February 13.
Vendor found one day Andure seated on a cement bench, outside his shop and he looked tensed. While he asked him what happened after some time he confronted him the entire case. Vendor then told Andure not to reveal anything more to him, he is a businessman and he has nothing to do with this.
On Andure asking if the seller could “financially help” his parents just in case he got arrested within the case, the latter allegedly gave no answer. After hearing everything he shut the shop and left for home.
According to the charge sheet Dabholkar was killed by the accused due to their ideological differences and enmity or hatred. The 69-year old rationalist was also perceived to be “anti-Hindu”. Sachin Andure is a “Pro Hindutva worker”.
It was almost three years after that alleged confession that the case saw its first breakthrough in June 2016—the arrest of Dr Virendra Sinha Tawade, the alleged mastermind of this conspiracy.
Andure and Kalaskar allegedly shot dead Dabholkar, the whole incident was planned by Tawade and co-accused Amol Kale, the charge sheet said. Two eye witnesses confirmed that they had seen Andure and Kalaskar at the crime scene.
According to the charge sheet, it was Tawade who allegedly called up Andure the day before the murder, and Kalaskar also informed. Both left Aurangabad by bus for Pune the same night.
Andure allegedly followed Dabholkar from his apartment to the bridge, where Kalaskar was already positioned, to focus on him. After three days both Andure and Kalaskar allegedly scared and Andure confessed everything in front of the vendor.
The CBI is yet to locate the weapons and the bike allegedly used in the crime. It is expected to continue its investigation against three co-accused against whom a charge sheet is yet to be filed—Kale, Amit Degvekar and Rajesh Bangera. They were arrested but secured bail last December.
Kale and Degvekar also are accused within the Gauri Lankesh and Govind Pansare murders. Advocate VirendraI chalkaranjikar, president of Hindu Vidhinya Parishad, which represents all the accused in the Dabholkar, Lankesh and Pansare cases, rejected CBI’s findings. He demand further enquiry. CBI hasn’t found the bike and the weapons yet.
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