Narendra Dabholkar case: Virendra Tawade complains of illness day before trial

A day before the court hearing in the Dr Narendra Dabholkar murder case, accused Dr Virendra Tawade on Wednesday complained that he was suffering from several health problems. The CBI immediately took him to JJ Hospital for a checkup and all the tests conducted on him, including blood pressure, blood sugar and ECG, were normal, sources said. The examination went on for six hours but the CBI did not want to take any chances with the prime accused. Dr Tawade was arrested last week for his alleged involvement in the killing of Dr Dabholkar.

The CBI is going to seek Tawade’s custody for more days, as it needs to get more information from him. The agency is also considering conducting a psychological test on him, as it suspects he has been dodging several questions. “Tawade is dodging many questions and hence we are going to conduct a psychological test on him,” an official said. Dr Tawade, western region head of Hindu Jan Jagruti Samiti — an offshoot of Sanatan Sanstha, was arrested last week.

Sources have said Tawade had not yet disclosed anything about his Splendour motorcycle, which led to his arrest, as a vehicle of that description was said to have been used in the killings of Dabholkar and rationalist Govind Pansare.

The CBI arrested Tawade after uncovering a trail of e-mails, text messages and phone calls between members of the right-wing organisation and him discussing weapons, ‘protecting’ Hinduism and adopting violent means. Dabholkar was mentioned in these conversations. Another lead was the vehicle used in the killings. Also, a witness who was working for the Hindu outfit, had come in contact with Tawade and informed the police about his intentions in a statement, CBI sources said.

He is not admitting his involvement in the killings, a CBI source said.

“Tawade was taken to the JJ Hospital on Wednesday for a medical check up, as he will be produced in the court the next day. We are mulling to conduct a psychological test on him, which does not require the court’s permission,” the source said.

The CBI has already issued red-corner notices against Sanatan Sanstha members Sarang Akolkar, Ramchandra Patidar and Rudra Patil, who are suspected to be involved in the killings of Dabholkar, Pansare and Kannada writer M.M. Kalburgi. Akolkar and Patil were also allegedly involved in the Madgaon blast in Goa in 2009, in which two Sanatan members lost their lives.

Sources also said that the CBI was going to recommend that the Union home ministry ban the organisation, considering its ‘unlawful’ activities.