New Delhi: Invoking sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the accused in the killing of rationalist and activist Narendra Dabholkar, the CBI has filed a report to a Pune court on Monday.
According to the Indian Express, the CBI has listed section 15 of the UAPA, which defines a “terrorist act” and section 16, which states that if the “act” results in death, the punishment is either death or life imprisonment. Once a case has been booked under the UAPA, a chargesheet can be filed within 90 days. However, an extension of another 90 days can be sought.
Six people have so far been arrested by the CBI in relation to Dabholkar’s killing in August 2013, of which five were arrested in August and September this year. Virendra Tawde, an ENT surgeon who is a member of extremist group Sanatan Sanstha, was the first person to be arrested by the CBI in July 2016. Tawde is said to be the mastermind of the plot to murder Dabholkar.
The CBI told the Pune court that the five persons arrested this year also have links to Sanatan Sanstha or its affiliate Hindu Janajagruti Samithi. Members from these groups are also suspected to be involved in the 2008 Maharashtra blasts and the killings of Gauri Lankesh, M.M. Kalburgi and Govind Pansare.
Also Read: After Several Arrests, Questions Still Surround the Dabholkar Murder Investigation
Of the five people arrested this year, the CBI took custody of Amol Kale, Amit Digwekar and Rajesh Baghera, who are all accused of being involved in Bengaluru-based journalist Lankesh’s murder. The two others arrested are Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar, the latter of whom is suspected to be the one who opened fire at Dabholkar.
According to the Indian Express, the UAPA application reiterates that the Dabholkar murder is linked to the killings of professor Kalburgi and communist Pansare.
“Since they (victims) defied their (accused) ideology, customs and beliefs, they were eliminated. This is nothing but an a terrorist act (sic). They had struck terror in the society and even ransacked the protests organised by the victims…the accused had a criminal intention,” a CBI official told the Indian Express.
An earlier chargesheet filed by the CBI in September 2016 had detailed Tawde’s email conversations with Sarang Akolkar, another member of the Sanatan Sanstha who is wanted in the 2009 Goa blasts. In that chargesheet, Akolkar was said to be Dabholkar’s shooter, along with Vinay Pawar.
From left to right: Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M.M. Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh. Credit: PTI, Twitter
Dharmaraj Chandel, a lawyer representing the five persons who were arrested by the CBI this year, told the Indian Express, “The investigating agency is trying to buy time as the law has the provision to extend the 90-day time limit. The CBI has found nothing that will support their theory. The contradiction between the CBI’s two claims, about Akolkar-Pawar and Andure-Kalaskar, is still unanswered. We are sure that the agency’s claims will be proved wrong during the trial.”