New Delhi (Agency): The Supreme Court of India, on August 18, questioned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) about the existence of a “common thread” in the murders of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Govind Pansare, activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh, and scholar M M Kalburgi.
These four prominent personalities were known for their vocal opposition to superstition and conservative views. Dabholkar was killed in Pune on August 20, 2013. Pansare’s murder took place on February 20, 2015, Lankesh was shot dead on September 5, 2017, and Kalburgi was murdered on August 30, 2015.
The inquiry by Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia came during the hearing of a plea by Mukta Dabholkar, daughter of Narendra Dabholkar. She was challenging the Bombay High Court’s refusal to continue monitoring the investigation into her father’s killing.
Senior advocate Anand Grover, who was representing Mukta, told the bench that a larger conspiracy might be behind the four murders. Grover stated that the evidence available suggested a connection among the cases. Mukta had previously raised this issue with the high court.
Addressing Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, Justice Dhulia asked, “The accused who are facing a trial (in Dabholkar case), according to you, there is no common thread in those four murders? Right? That is what you are saying?” Justice Kaul added, “That is what we want to know,” and urged the CBI to “Please look into it.”
While discussing the matter, the bench noted that the high court had previously stated that the trial in the Dabholkar case was underway, and some witnesses had been examined. The bench questioned, “… so therefore we (high court) don’t want to monitor it any further. What is wrong with such an observation?”
Grover pointed out that although the trial was ongoing, two of the accused were still absconding, and they had not been arrested.
ASG Bhati provided an update on the Dabholkar murder case, stating that 20 witnesses had been examined during the trial. The bench acknowledged the petitioner’s claim of a more extensive conspiracy and ordered that the matter be listed after eight weeks. The bench granted ASG four weeks to examine the issue of a larger conspiracy in these killings.
Grover previously told the apex court on May 18 that the CBI suspected a common link in the murders. He said, “The investigation has found that weapons used in these subsequent incidents (the killing of Pansare and Lankesh) and Dabholkar murder were the same and people involved in the crimes were also the same. Hence, CBI wanted to do further investigation.”
After monitoring the Dabholkar case investigation for nine years, the high court had said that no further watch was required and disposed of several petitions, including the one filed by Mukta Dabholkar for continued monitoring.
The case had been transferred to the CBI from Pune police in 2014 after a petition by Mukta Dabholkar and another activist. In 2021, a special Pune court charged the alleged mastermind of the crime, Virendra Sinh Tawde, and three others with murder, criminal conspiracy, and terror-related offenses under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
