Sanatan Sastha member Virendra Tawade, who is an accused in rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar’s killing, has been given police custody till September 8 by a local court in Kolhapur.
Sanatan Sastha member Virendra Tawade, who is an accused in rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar’s killing, has been given police custody till September 8 by a local court in Kolhapur. The CBI had arrested Tawade from Panvel in June. The special CBI court in Pune had earlier allowed the Kolhapur police, which is probing the killing of CPI leader and rationalist Govind Pansare, to take his custody whenever needed. Tawade is lodged in Yerawada jail near Pune.
The Kolhapur police asked the court to extend his custody till 14 September to find out about the motorcycle and pistol that was used to kill Pansare. However, the court approved of his custody till September 8.
The Kolhapur police took Tawade’s custody from the CBI on September 2. The CBI had arrested Tawade from Panvel in June, alleging that he was involved in the Dabholkar murder. Meanwhile,
Tawade, who had made claims of police brutality, was proven false in medical tests carried out as per the court’s order.
Tawade, during a hearing in front of the Kolhapur District Session Court, in connection with the murder of Pansare, had alleged that police beat him while he was in its custody. Hence judge P.V. Patil adjourned the hearing and asked for a medical test to check whether or not he was being beaten.
“Later, as directed by the court, his medical test was conducted at Chhatrapati Pramilatai Raje Government Hospital. The report, however, concluded that there were no signs of his being beaten up,” said Amrut Deshmukh, police inspector, Kohlapur.
A police officer said here Tawade had worked as an organiser for the conservative Hindu outfit in Kolhapur for some time, and therefore he came under the scanner of state police SIT, which is probing the Pansare murder case.
