In the judgment passed earlier today, accused Sachin Andure, Sharad Kalaskar were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment along with penalties of ₹5 lakh each.
Dr Virendrasinh Tawade, Vikram Bhave and Sanjeev Punalekar were acquitted.
The Court observed that although there was evidence of motive for murder against Tawade, and that there was reasonable suspicion against Punalekar and Bhave, the prosecution failed to establish their involvement by leading reliable evidence.
However, it was proved beyond doubt that Andure and Kalaskar murdered Dabholkar by firing bullets from firearms, the Court stated.
Dabholkar, founder of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) was shot dead by two assailants during a morning walk in Pune in 2013.
The trial, that lasted nearly three years, had commenced only in 2021 though the sessions case had been instituted in 2016.
The accused, who are linked to Sanatan Sanstha organisation, were arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from 2016 to 2019.
The CBI took over the case in 2014 from Pune City police and filed chargesheet against 5 accused in the case.
Four accused, Dr Virendrasinh Tawade, Sachin Andure, Sharad Kalaskar and Vikram Bhave were charged with offences under Sections 302 read with Section 120B for criminal conspiracy and executing the murder.
Additionally they were charged with offences under Section 16 (terrorist act) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of Arms Act.
Accused Sanjeev Punalekar, a Mumbai based lawyer, was charged for the offence under Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for causing disappearance of evidence.
Source: Barandbench
