Pune: Verdict in Dr Narendra Dabholkar Murder Case to be Announced on May 10
Pune, 19th April 2024: The verdict in the Dr Narendra Dabholkar murder case is set to be announced on May 10. This decision comes almost eleven years after Dr Dabholkar’s murder. Dr Dabholkar, the Working President of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (MANS), was killed on Maharshi Vitthal Ramji Shinde Bridge on August 20, 2013. The trial began eight years after the murder, with the Pune Police initially handling the investigation.
The Bombay High Court transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in June 2014. In the Dabholkar murder case, charges were filed on September 15, 2021, against Dr. Virendersinh Tawde, Sachin Andure, Sharad Kalaskar, Advocate Sanjeev Punalekar, and Vikram Bhave. Initially, the case was heard in the court of Pune District Judge S.R. Navander and is now being heard in the court of Judge P.P. Jadhav.
CBI counsel Advocate Prakash Suryavanshi recorded the testimony of 20 witnesses in the case. The accused individuals—Tawde, Andure, Kalaskar, and Bhave—face charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 302 (Murder), 120 (b) (Criminal conspiracy), 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), as well as relevant sections of the Arms Act, 1959 and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Punalekar and Bhave have been granted bail.
