A Pune special court for UAPA cases on Friday convicted and sentenced two men to life imprisonment for the murder of renowned rationalist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar.
However, the court acquitted three individuals, including key accused Virendrasinh Tawde. Dr. Dabholkar, aged 67, an anti-superstition activist, was fatally shot while on a morning walk on Omkareshwar Bridge on August 20, 2013.
Verdict
Reading out the verdict in a packed courtroom, Additional Sessions Judge (Special Court) P. P. Jadhav stated that the prosecution successfully proved the charges of murder and conspiracy against Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar, sentencing them to life imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 5 lakh. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) confirmed that Andure and Kalaskar were the ones who shot Dr. Dabholkar.
Acquittal
The court acquitted ENT surgeon Tawde, along with Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave, due to insufficient evidence.
The prosecution, supported by 20 witnesses, argued that the accused opposed Dr. Dabholkar’s campaign against superstition during its final arguments. Initially, Pune police investigated the case, but the CBI took over in 2014 following a Bombay High Court order. Tawde, associated with the Hindu right-wing group Sanatan Sanstha, was arrested in June 2016, alleged to be one of the masterminds behind the murder.
The CBI initially named fugitives Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar as the shooters but later arrested Andure and Kalaskar, asserting in a supplementary charge sheet that they committed the crime. Advocate Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave were subsequently arrested as alleged co-conspirators. During the trial, defense lawyer Virendra Ichalkaranjikar questioned the CBI’s inconsistency regarding the shooters’ identity.
Charges
The accused were charged under sections 120 B (conspiracy), 302 (murder), relevant sections of the Arms Act, and section 16 (Punishment for terrorist act) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA. While Tawde, Andure, and Kalaskar remain in custody, Punalekar and Bhave are out on bail.
Dr. Dabholkar’s murder was followed by the killings of three other rationalists/activists over the next four years: communist leader Govind Pansare (Kolhapur, February 2015), Kannada scholar and writer M. M. Kalburgi (Dharwad, August 2015), and journalist Gauri Lankesh (Bengaluru, September 2017). There was suspicion that the perpetrators in these four cases were interconnected.
