Mumbai: After perusing the probe reports filed by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and state police’s special investigation team (SIT) in connection with the murders of Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, the Bombay high court has summoned the additional chief secretary, home department; and joint director, CBI to remain present before the court at the next hearing on July 12.
The bench of Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari and Justice Bharti Dangre was hearing a petition filed by the family members of Dabholkar and Pansare about the failure of the investigation agencies to arrest the accused.
The bench noted that despite the claims made by CBI and SIT that they had been keeping vigil on persons and establishments across the state connected to extremist organisations, a SIT from Karnataka had arrested an alleged accused in connection with the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh from Maharashtra.
“Both the investigating agencies have been maintaining that they have been coordinating with the Karnataka police that is probing the killings of writer M.M. Kalburgi and Gauri Lankesh. The agencies have also been claiming that they have been keeping a watch on certain organisations. Then how did the Karnataka authorities manage to make an arrest from Maharashtra?” the bench said.
“Is there a lack of coordination or, are the authorities before us restricting their probe to merely pursuing mobile phone records? The same degree of seriousness and promptness as shown prima facie by the Karnataka authorities needs to be adopted by the Maharashtra SIT and the CBI,” the bench said.
Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013, in Pune, while he was on his morning walk. Pansare was shot on February 16, 2015, in Kolhapur.
