In Pune on Friday, a special court convicted two individuals, Sachin Andure and Sarad Kalaskar, sentencing them to life imprisonment in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.
The court also acquitted three others, Virendra Tawade, Advocate Sanjeev Punalekar, and Vikram Bhave, citing insufficient evidence.
Tawade had been identified as the main conspirator by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The trial for the 2013 murder case began in 2021, and Pune Sessions Judge PP Jadhav delivered the judgment last month.
Narendra Dabholkar, founder of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, was shot by two assailants on a motorcycle while on his morning walk in Pune on August 20, 2013.
After his murder, amid public outcry, the case was transferred from Pune Police to the CBI by the Bombay High Court, following petitions from Dabholkar’s daughter and son.
The case is still under review by the court.
Subsequently, five suspects—Virendra Singh Tawade, Sachin Andure, Sharad Kalaskar, Vikram Bhave, and Advocate Sanjeev Punalekar—were arrested.
They faced charges under Sections 302 (murder) with 120B or 34 (criminal conspiracy), Section 16 (terrorist act) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and provisions of the Arms Act.
Additionally, they were charged under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for tampering with evidence.
The charges were framed by the Pune sessions court on September 15, 2021, against all five suspects.
The court noted that a conspiracy was orchestrated to eliminate Dabholkar to instill fear and discourage others from engaging in activities related to the ‘Andhashradha Nirmulan Samiti’.
While Tawade, Andure, and Kalaskar were in judicial custody, Punalekar and Bhave were out on bail.
During the proceedings, Special Public Prosecutor Prakash Suryavanshi represented the prosecution, while advocate Prakash Salsingikar, representing Tawade and Andure, highlighted various theories and accused names presented by the CBI before focusing on the primary suspects.
Salsingikar emphasized that eyewitnesses in the CBI chargesheet identified Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar as the shooters.
He argued that Andure and Kalaskar, the accused in the case, were identified as alleged shooters by the CBI.
Advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, representing Kalaskar and Bhave, argued that identifying the alleged shooters after nine years in court lacked certainty, especially considering the inability of eyewitnesses to specify the shooters’ exact roles.
Ichalkaranjikar noted that neither the weapon used to shoot Dabholkar nor the motorcycle involved in the incident was recovered by the CBI at the behest of the accused.
He also pointed out that although Kalaskar had reportedly confessed to Dabholkar’s murder while in custody for the Gauri Lankesh murder case, this confession was not presented as evidence.
During the proceedings, the defense presented two witnesses, relatives of the accused, to establish the accused’s whereabouts contrary to the prosecution’s claims.
