CBI files supplementary charge sheet in rationalist Dabholkar murder case; invokes terror charges

The CBI has invoked terror charges in a supplementary chargesheet filed before a Pune court Wednesday in the murder case of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar against two alleged shooters Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar, officials said.

In the chargesheet filed before the Special CBI Court, the agency has charged Andure and Kalaskar under Indian Penal Code sections for criminal conspiracy and murder and provisions of Arms Act and Section 16 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), they said.

The Section 16 of the UAPA Act relates to the act of terror and calls for punishment of life imprisonment if the act led to the death of a person.

The agency has said the probe to look for motorcycle used for the killing and the weapon used is still going on.

Dabholkar was killed on August 20, 2013 when he was on a morning walk on the Onkareshwar Bridge in Pune, they said.

It is alleged that Andure was the first shooter who fired on Dabholkar while an armed Kalaskar also accompanied him. During questioning, Andure had revealed the role of Kalaskar, who was nabbed from Aurangabad, they said.

Andure and Kalaskar are both in prison, they said.

In June 2016, the agency had filed its first chargesheet against alleged Hindu Janjagruti Samiti member Virendra Singh Tawde under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder) of the IPC, among other charges.

Dabholkar, who was known for his anti-superstition movement, was on the target of a right wing extremist group which allegedly saw his views as against their religion, the CBI said.

Andure was arrested on a tip-off from the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in August last year, which had arrested three persons for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to carry out blasts in the state.

Tawde, arrested in 2016, was allegedly the mastermind of the killing, the CBI had said.

The Bombay High Court in May 2014 had handed over the Dabholkar murder case to the CBI which had registered its FIR on June 2, 2016 taking over investigation from the state police.