Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday informed the Bombay High Court that it has completed its probe into the 2013 killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, and submitted the report to the competent authority for its decision.
The submission came following a query by a division bench comprising Justices A.S. Gadkari and P.D. Naik, which asked whether the investigation into the murder of Dabholkar — who was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013 – was complete.
To this, the CBI counsel, Additional Solicitor-General Anil Singh, said that the investigating officer of the agency has already submitted to the concerned authorities that the probe is over and no further investigation is required.
On Singh’s request, the bench allowed three weeks’ time to the CBI to confirm whether its probe is over to enable the high court to decide whether it should continue monitoring the same.
Singh said that the CBI has carried out the investigation, and no further probe is needed, adding that the IO has also filed his report which is pending before the competent authority. So far, 15 out of 32 witnesses have been examined in the trial, which commenced in September 2021, Singh informed the court.
The court’s order came on a petition filed by Dabholkar’s daughter, who had sought a high court-monitored probe, contending that the CBI investigation was not satisfactory and it had left loopholes in its probe.
The founder of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), Dabholkar was gunned down while on a morning walk in Pune, allegedly by members of a right-wing group, Sanatan Sanstha.
A year after his sensational daylight killing in a public area, the CBI took over the probe in 2014 and arrested five persons. After a charge-sheet was filed in the court, the trial commenced in September 2021.
–IANS