All posts tagged: Narendra Dabholkar

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and a travesty of justice

Published by Parlour News

File picture of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. | Photo Credit: ANI Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the leader of the sect Dera Sacha Sauda, who is a convicted rapist and murderer, was released on parole days before the Haryana Assembly elections. He was released on parole in the run-up to the Punjab Assembly elections in 2022 and the Rajasthan Assembly elections in 2023 as well. Singh has come out on parole 15 times, with several of these occasions coinciding with some election. In all, Singh has spent more than 250 days of his sentence outside jail. Convicted for rape and murder The ostensible reason for his release is that, as a leader of a sect, he commands pockets of support and influence beyond Haryana and Punjab, in Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, in an estimated 30 Assembly constituencies. His political clout aside, the fact that he has been convicted for raping two female disciples and also for murder by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court needs to be reiterated. It …

Court On Narendra Dabholkar’s Murder

Published by Webster

The court said that prosecution failed to expose masterminds behind killing of Narendra Dabholkar. Pune: The investigating agencies could not expose the masterminds behind the murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, and must introspect whether it was a mere failure or a “deliberate inaction” due to the influence of any “person in power,” the trial court here said on Friday in its judgement. The two assailants, who were convicted, were not the masterminds, Additional Sessions Judge P P Jadhav observed in the verdict. The special court for UAPA cases convicted assailants Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar in the 2013 murder case and sentenced them to life imprisonment, but acquitted alleged conspirators Dr Virendrasinh Tawde, Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave for want of evidence. In his order, judge Jadhav noted that there was evidence about motive for the murder against Tawde, and reasonable suspicion against Punalekar and Bhave regarding involvement in the crime. But the prosecution failed to establish the same by converting the motive and suspicion into evidence, the order said. As to Andure and …

2 Sanatan Sanstha members convicted of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar’s murder | Latest News India

Published by Parlour News

A special Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) court in Pune on Friday convicted two shooters associated with Sanatan Sanstha of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar’s murder in August 2013 and sentenced them to life in prison. Rationalist Narendra Dabholkar. (HT PHOTO) Additional sessions judge A A Jadhav pronounced Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar guilty under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA. Three other Sanatan Sanstha members Virendrasinh Tawade, Sanjiv Punalekar, and Vikram Bhave were acquitted. Unlock exclusive access to the latest news on India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now! Download Now! “Tawade, Punalekar, and Bhave have been acquitted for want of evidence. The prosecution failed to prove the charges,” said Jadhav. “In the case of Sharad Kalaskar and Sachin Andure, the charges have been proved. They have been held guilty and imprisoned for life.” Two assailants shot dead Dabholkar, 67, a leading light of the nationalist movement, while he was on a morning walk. Dabholkar founded Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti to campaign against superstition and the caste system. His killing was the first in …

2 Found Guilty In Activist Narendra Dabholkar Murder Case, Get Life In Prison

Published by Webster

New Delhi: Two people were today sentenced to life imprisonment by a Pune court for the 2013 murder of activist Narendra Dabholkar. The court acquitted three other accused in the case. Reading out the order in a packed courtroom, Additional Sessions Judge (Special Court) P P Jadhav said that the prosecution had proved the charges of murder and conspiracy against Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar and they have been awarded life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5 lakh. According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Andure and Kalaskar had shot Dabholkar. The court acquitted accused ENT surgeon Tawde, Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave for want of evidence. Narendra Dabholkar, who headed the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013, allegedly by the members of a fringe group. Dabholkar’s murder in Pune had been followed by the shooting of Govind Pansare in February 2015 and MM Kalburgi in Kolhapur in August the same year. Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her home in Bengaluru in September 2017. Pune …