Tag: MM Kalburgi

  • Was there ‘common thread’ in murders of Dabholkar, Pansare, Lankesh and Kalburgi? SC to CBI

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the CBI whether there was any ‘common thread’ in the murders of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, CPI leader Govind Pansare, activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh and scholar MM Kalburgi.

    Dabholkar, who fought against superstition, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants during his morning walk in Pune on August 20, 2013.

    Pansare was murdered on February 20, 2015, while Lankesh was killed on September 5, 2017.

    Kalburgi was shot dead on August 30, 2015.

    FROM OUR ARCHIVES | Gauri is alive in her work and people’s memories: Sister Kavita Lankesh

    A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia posed this query to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) while hearing a plea by Mukta Dabholkar, daughter of Narendra Dabholkar, challenging the Bombay High Court’s April 18, 2023 order that refused to continue monitoring the investigation in the killing of her father.

    Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for Mukta Dabholkar, told the bench there was a larger conspiracy behind the four killings.

    He said the available evidence indicated that these cases may be connected and Mukta Dabholkar had raised this issue before the High Court.

    “The accused who are facing a trial (in the Dabholkar case), according to you, there is no common thread in those four murders? Right? That is what you are saying?” Justice Dhulia asked Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, who was appearing for the CBI.

    “That is what we want to know,” Justice Kaul said, and asked the CBI to “Please look into it”.

    ALSO READ | Kannada writers seek protection, to meet Home Minister G Parameshwara

    As soon as Grover began arguing about the issues involved in the matter, the bench told him the High Court has said the trial in the Dabholkar murder case is going on and some witnesses have already been examined.

    “…So, therefore we (High Court) don’t want to monitor it any further. What is wrong with such an observation?” the bench asked him.

    Grover said though the trial is going on, two of the accused are absconding and have not been arrested yet.

    Giving the status of the Dabholkar murder case, Bhati told the bench that 20 witnesses have so far been examined during the trial.

    The bench told Bhati the petitioner has also alleged a wider conspiracy.

    The bench noted the petitioner’s counsel has submitted that they need two weeks to place some documents along with the translation of the relevant portions, which will help the ASG in examining the issue of the larger conspiracy involved in these killings.

    “ASG is granted four weeks thereafter to examine the aforesaid issue,” the bench said and ordered the listing of the matter after eight weeks.

    FROM OUR ARCHIVES | Thousands remember Kalburgi on his death anniversary

    Grover had told the apex court on May 18 that the CBI suspected there could be a common link in the killings of Dabholkar, Pansare and Lankesh.

    “The investigation has found that weapons used in these subsequent incidents (the killing of Pansare and Lankesh) and the Dabholkar murder were the same and people involved in the crimes were also the same. Hence, CBI wanted to do further investigation,” he had said.

    The High Court had said on April 18, after nine years of monitoring the Narendra Dabholkar case investigation, that no further watch on the probe was required.

    It had disposed of several petitions including the one filed by Mukta Dabholkar for continued monitoring.

    In 2014, the High Court had transferred the probe to the CBI from Pune police following a petition by Mukta Dabholkar and another activist.

    A special Pune court had in 2021 framed charges against the alleged mastermind of the crime, Virendra Sinh Tawde.

    It had charged Tawde and three others with murder and criminal conspiracy and with terror related offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

    Another accused Sanjeev Punalekar was charged with destruction of evidence.

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the CBI whether there was any ‘common thread’ in the murders of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, CPI leader Govind Pansare, activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh and scholar MM Kalburgi.

    Dabholkar, who fought against superstition, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants during his morning walk in Pune on August 20, 2013.

    Pansare was murdered on February 20, 2015, while Lankesh was killed on September 5, 2017.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Kalburgi was shot dead on August 30, 2015.

    FROM OUR ARCHIVES | Gauri is alive in her work and people’s memories: Sister Kavita Lankesh

    A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia posed this query to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) while hearing a plea by Mukta Dabholkar, daughter of Narendra Dabholkar, challenging the Bombay High Court’s April 18, 2023 order that refused to continue monitoring the investigation in the killing of her father.

    Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for Mukta Dabholkar, told the bench there was a larger conspiracy behind the four killings.

    He said the available evidence indicated that these cases may be connected and Mukta Dabholkar had raised this issue before the High Court.

    “The accused who are facing a trial (in the Dabholkar case), according to you, there is no common thread in those four murders? Right? That is what you are saying?” Justice Dhulia asked Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, who was appearing for the CBI.

    “That is what we want to know,” Justice Kaul said, and asked the CBI to “Please look into it”.

    ALSO READ | Kannada writers seek protection, to meet Home Minister G Parameshwara

    As soon as Grover began arguing about the issues involved in the matter, the bench told him the High Court has said the trial in the Dabholkar murder case is going on and some witnesses have already been examined.

    “…So, therefore we (High Court) don’t want to monitor it any further. What is wrong with such an observation?” the bench asked him.

    Grover said though the trial is going on, two of the accused are absconding and have not been arrested yet.

    Giving the status of the Dabholkar murder case, Bhati told the bench that 20 witnesses have so far been examined during the trial.

    The bench told Bhati the petitioner has also alleged a wider conspiracy.

    The bench noted the petitioner’s counsel has submitted that they need two weeks to place some documents along with the translation of the relevant portions, which will help the ASG in examining the issue of the larger conspiracy involved in these killings.

    “ASG is granted four weeks thereafter to examine the aforesaid issue,” the bench said and ordered the listing of the matter after eight weeks.

    FROM OUR ARCHIVES | Thousands remember Kalburgi on his death anniversary

    Grover had told the apex court on May 18 that the CBI suspected there could be a common link in the killings of Dabholkar, Pansare and Lankesh.

    “The investigation has found that weapons used in these subsequent incidents (the killing of Pansare and Lankesh) and the Dabholkar murder were the same and people involved in the crimes were also the same. Hence, CBI wanted to do further investigation,” he had said.

    The High Court had said on April 18, after nine years of monitoring the Narendra Dabholkar case investigation, that no further watch on the probe was required.

    It had disposed of several petitions including the one filed by Mukta Dabholkar for continued monitoring.

    In 2014, the High Court had transferred the probe to the CBI from Pune police following a petition by Mukta Dabholkar and another activist.

    A special Pune court had in 2021 framed charges against the alleged mastermind of the crime, Virendra Sinh Tawde.

    It had charged Tawde and three others with murder and criminal conspiracy and with terror related offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

    Another accused Sanjeev Punalekar was charged with destruction of evidence.

  • HC asks Maharashtra CID for report on progress in Govind Pansare killing probe

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Maharashtra police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to submit a report detailing the progress made from 2020 till date in its probe into the killing of activist Govind Pansare in 2015.

    A bench led by Justice Revati Mohite-Dere directed the CID to submit the report within four weeks.

    The CID last submitted a status report in the case in 2020.

    The HC’s direction came after Abhay Nevagi, the counsel for Pansare’s family members, told the court that the state police were yet to make any headway in the case even after seven years of the killing.

    The high court has been presiding over two petitions and several applications filed by the family members of Pansare and slain rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, seeking that the court monitor the probe into the two killings.

    While the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing Dabholkar’s murder, a special investigation team (SIT) of the Maharashtra police’s CID is conducting a probe into Pansare’s killing.

    On Thursday, the bench also permitted the state government to relieve Additional SP Tirupati Kakade, the current investigating officer (IO) in the Pansare case.

    Kakade is due for a transfer after heading the probe for over four-and-a-half years.

    Since, a previous direction of the Bombay High Court mandated that none of the officers probing the two cases be changed without the court’s permission, the state government approached the HC on Thursday.

    The bench led by Justice Mohite-Dere allowed the state’s request for “relieving” Kakade, saying a new IO must be appointed within four weeks and only then Kakade can take charge of his new posting.

    The state informed the court that there were 15 officers in the SIT probing the case, of whom two retired recently and one had died of COVID-19.

    Nevagi also filed an application, claiming the killings of Dabholkar, Pansare, and slain Kannada activist and academic MM Kalburgi were all “linked”.

    He sought a direction from the HC to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to probe who was the mastermind behind the three killings.

    The high court is yet to pass any direction on the application.

    “Let them (state CID) first give the status report from 2020 to 2022 (in the Pansare case),” the HC said.

    Dhabolkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013 in Pune while he was on a morning walk.

    Pansare was shot at on February 16, 2015 in Kolhapur and succumbed to his injuries a few days later on February 20.

    Kalburgi was shot to death in Dharwad, Karnataka, on August 30, 2015.

    The agencies probing the three killings said in court on previous occasions that the cases had some common links and accused persons.

    The Bombay HC has been hearing petitions filed by the kin of Dhabolkar and Pansare, seeking that the court monitor the probe into both the cases.