Dabholkar murder case: Tawde sent to CBI custody till June 16

A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Saturday sent Virendra Tawde, a right-wing activist accused of being involved in the murder of noted Pune-based rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in 2013, to CBI custody till June 16.

Tawde, a member of the Sanatan Sanstha and the Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS), was produced before the court in Pune after his arrest yesterday.

The arrest came nine days after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searched the residence of Tawde, who works as a medical officer for the Sanstha, and questioned him at the outfit's ashram in Panvel.

Tawde's arrest was the first by the central agency since it took over the probe in May 2014 on the directions of the Bombay High Court, following a PIL alleged that pro-Hindutva activists were involved in the killing.

Dabholkar was shot dead reportedly by two unidentified people near Balgandharva auditorium in Pune when he was out for a morning walk on August 20, 2013. The assailants fled on a two-wheeler.

The high court had transferred the probe to the CBI on May 9, 2014, after a PIL filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar, saying there was no headway even several months after the killing of Dabholkar.