Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will not get crucial forensic help from United Kingdom’s Scotland Yard for the probe into Narendra Dabholkar murder case. The Scotland Yard has told the investigation agency that its request has fallen short of the requirements.
The CBI had relied solely upon September 22, 1992, Indo-UK Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) to seek Scotland Yard’s ballistic opinion on cartridges and spent shells found at the crime scenes of the Dabholkar and two other rationalists’ murder cases.
The sources said, “The Scotland Yard informed the CBI, in writing, that the 1992 MLAT treaty was not sufficient and an agreement with UK’s Home Department was also required.”
The Scotland Yard told the CBI that until further agreement was completed, it would not be possible to examine the ballistic materials and provide a definite and conclusive opinion, added an agency source.
As part of the probe, the CBI and other central authorities had approached the Indian High Commission in London and the High Commission of the UK in New Delhi to seek Scotland Yard’s help. When contacted by The Asian Age, CBI refused to comment.
The CBI informed the Bombay High Court three weeks ago that it was no longer pursuing Scotland Yard for the help and had instead approached a Gujarat-based forensic laboratory. The CBI is yet to submit its final ballistics report to the court.
CBI had sought the Scotland Yard’s “impartial” opinion to ascertain whether a single firearm was used to kill Pune’s Dabholkar and two other rationalists — Govind Pansare in February 2015 at Kolhapur and Kannada scholar M.M. Kalburgi in August 2015 in Hubli. The CBI had sought the Scotland Yard’s help in the backdrop of conflicting opinions from two Indian laboratories located in Mumbai and Bengaluru.
The ballistic samples in the three cases were sent to the Scotland Yard after the Mumbai and Bengaluru laboratories had concluded that the three rationalists were killed with an identical 7.65 mm country-made pistol, but they differed on whether one weapon was used or multiple.
To seek the Scotland Yard’s opinion, the investigation agency had taken permission from courts in Hubli, Pune and Kolhapur to send the ballistic samples.
