The prosecution examined 20 witnesses while the defence examined two witnesses during the trial.
Dr Narendra Dabholkar
A special court in Pune is likely to announce its verdict on Friday in the murder case of rationalist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, who was shot dead during a morning walk on Omkareshwar Bridge on August 20, 2013.
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According to special public prosecutor Prakash Suryawanshi, Additional Sessions Judge AA Jadhav of the special court for cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act will give the verdict, stated a PTI report.
The report added that during the trial, the prosecution presented 20 witnesses and the defence examined two. The prosecution claimed that the accused were opposed to Dabholkar's crusade against superstition.
The matter was initially investigated by Pune Police before being taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2014, following a Bombay High Court decision. Dr. Virendrasinh Tawade, an ENT surgeon affiliated with the Hindu right-wing organisation Sanatan Sanstha, was arrested in June 2016, and the prosecution accused him of complicity in the murder, the PTI report added.
According to the news agency report, the CBI initially charged fugitives Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar as the shooters, but later detained Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar, alleging direct involvement in the murder. The agency also detained attorney Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave as alleged co-conspirators.
The defendants are charged under numerous provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including conspiracy and murder, as well as relevant sections of the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the report added.
According to the report, some of the accused are in jail, while others are out on bond. Dabholkar's murder was followed by similar instances involving other rationalists/activists, raising suspicions of a link between the crimes.
According to the PTI report, Dabholkar's murder was followed by the killings of rationalists/Activists--communist leader Govind Pansare in Kolhapur, Kannada scholar and writer MM Kalburgi in Dharwad and journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru. While Pansare was killed in February 2015, Kalburgi was killed months later in August and Lankesh was shot dead in September 2017.
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