The Bombay high court on Thursday reprimanded the CBI for failing to protect a witness in rationalist Narendra Dabholkar’s murder case after the witness spoke to the media.
The Bombay high court on Thursday reprimanded the CBI for failing to protect a witness in rationalist Narendra Dabholkar’s murder case after the witness spoke to the media. It also criticised police officials who divulged important information about the case to the media, saying that the absconding accused would get to know everything that is happening, just as the handlers of terrorists did during the 26/11 attacks.
Sanjay Sadwilkar, a key witness in the Dabholkar case, had recently spoken to the media. Meanwhile, the court also asked the state if the murder case of social activist Govind Pansare had been transferred to the CBI or not.
Coming down heavily on the police for slow progress in the investigations into the Dabholkar and Pansare murder cases, the division bench of Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari and Justice Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi also asked the CBI to get a ballistic report of the weapon used in the murders from Scotland Yard within six weeks. The ballistic report of the weapon is being sought from Scotland Yard because the investigating agency has received contradictory reports from two different Forensic Science Laboratories. As per one report, the bullets in the Dabholkar, Pansare and M.M. Kalburgi murders were fired from the same weapon but another report states that different weapons were used in all the three murders.
The Pansare family had approached the state government seeking a CBI probe in the matter and the state government consented on Wednesday, said advocate Abhay Nevgi, representing the family of the slain Communist leader, and informed the court bench about the same.
The government pleader Sandip Shindhe, however, told the court that no such decision was taken by the state and that the state would inform the court if any such development took place.
Samir Gaikwad, arrested in connection with the Govind Pansare murder case, has approached the Bombay high court seeking bail. Gaikwad has sought bail on the ground that the police does not have any evidence to link him with the murder. Justice A.M. Badar adjourned hearing on the plea till July 11, as Gaikwad’s lawyer was not present. Special public prosecutor Harshad Nimbalkar is opposing bail saying there is enough evidence to prove his involvement in the crime.
