The Rationalist Murders, a book that points out serious inconsistencies and problems in the investigations of four rationalists, was released in Mumbai. The book deals with the investigations into the murders of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, Communist leader Govind Pansare, Kannada writer Prof Malleshappa Madivalappa Kalburgi and journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh.
The Rationalist Murders: Diary of Ruined Investigation has been penned by Dr Amit Thadhani and was released at the Shanmukhananda Hall at Sion in Mumbai on the 29th of April evening. Following is an extract from the book:
Ketan Tirodkar first came into the limelight in 2004, when as a string journalist he alleged that he had witnessed and facilitated top cop Daya Nayak handing over a local Bhavnagar criminal Sadiq Jamal Mehtar to Gujarat Police on 11th January 2003, two days before Sadiq was shot dead in an encounter. Gujarat ATS stated that Sadiq was part of a conspiracy to assassinate the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Tirodkar claimed that he was approached by Sadiq Jamal Mehtar, whom he knew from his days in Dubai, in Mumbai to take his help for letting him off from a gambling case in which he was recently arrested. Thereafter, Tirodkar said that he approached Daya Nayak to help Sadiq Jamal Mehtar but instead, Nayak arrested him. After interrogating him, Nayak supposedly handed him over to Gujarat ATS which shot him in a fake encounter on 13th January 2003. But this is just part of the story of how an underworld courier was turned into a social activist and crusader for justice.
Tirodkar, a small-time journalist working for “The Afternoon Courier”, came into contact with underworld dons such as Chhota Shakeel in Dubai in the late 1990s. In 2001, he returned to Mumbai from Dubai and befriended Daya Nayak, by acting as an informant. Nayak was then at his peak as a top encounter specialist responsible for gunning down 83 of the most notorious criminals the city had ever seen. After having collected enough information on Nayak through this so-called friendship, in 2001, Tirodkar filed a complaint against Daya Nayak with the CVC alleging that he had constructed a school in his native place Yennehole in Karnataka. The complaint was found to be bogus as Nayak had only donated about Rs.10,001 for the school, which was community-funded. In November 2003, Tirodkar filed a case against Nayak under the MCOCA (Maharashtra Control of Crimes Act), for having links with the underworld. This allegation virtually derailed Nayak’s illustrious career for the next several years. Inquiries followed and Nayak was arrested in 2006. He spent years in court battles until he was eventually acquitted in 2009, but the MCOCA case was only quashed by the Supreme Court in 2010. Daya Nayak was reinstated to his office in June 2012.
However, during the course of the investigation, it was found that Tirodkar himself was deeply involved with the underworld and had ties with Chhota Shakeel. He was arrested in 2004 and spent several months in Arthur Road Jail. While in jail, he was contacted by advocate Mukul Sinha. Sinha instructed Tirodkar to issue an affidavit reiterating his claims, based on which a CBI inquiry was demanded into the murder. Mukul Sinha was appearing in court on behalf of Jamal’s brother in the matter and was a known Narendra Modi baiter, who ran a propaganda portal truthofgujarat.com, targeting the then CM of Gujarat. He was also a regular speaker and trainer for Congress workers. After his demise, his son Pratik Sinha runs the portal along with a fact-checking website altnews.com. Tirodkar’s release from jail on bail was also ensured. In November 2003, Tirodkar also gave his first complaint on Daya Nayak handing over Sadiq to the Gujarat ATS.
Sadiq Jamal was in custody of Mumbai Police since 19th December 2002 and had already been handed over to Gujarat police on 3rd January 2003 for interrogation after an IB report. Hence, it was impossible that he could have been in Daya Nayak’s custody up to 11th January 2003, as alleged by Tirodkar. Given his long history of accusations against Daya Nayak, this allegation too should have been taken with a bucket of salt. However, this time he had the might of an ecosystem to back and promote him powerfully, as a whistle-blower, and thus began Tirodkar’s second career: as a social activist. In the following years, Tirodkar filed several PILs on various issues, from police housing and benami deals to Maratha reservations.
On 16th June 2011, the Gujarat High Court ordered the Daya Nayak case to be transferred to CBI in view of other matters such as the Ishrat Jahan and Sohrabuddin encounter cases being probed by that agency at the time. As he had himself admitted to being part of the conspiracy, Tirodkar was later again jailed by the CBI in 2012 as an accused in the case along with some police officers. He was granted bail as the CBI failed to file their mandatory charge sheet within 90 days. In 2014, Tirodkar was arrested for his defamatory statements against high court judges on Facebook. He eventually got bail after a warning from Supreme Court. In 2017, he was again arrested for his derogatory social media post on women.
In September 2013, less than a month after Dabholkar’s murder, Ketan Tirodkar filed a PIL in Bombay High Court, asking for transfer of the Dabholkar murder case to a Central agency as he lacked faith in the Maharashtra Police. His initial request was to hand over the case to NIA, and he was later allowed to amend the petition to include CBI. The PIL claimed that the Pune police had come across some information about possible involvement of astrology practitioners, against whom Dabholkar was about to start an agitation. He alleged that the astrology practitioners were in touch with Hindu right-wing extremists who often blamed Dabholkar for hurting religious sentiments. In response, Rajendra Bhamare, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Pune Crime Branch, said the contention that it was the handiwork of right-wing extremists was based only on the petitioner’s imagination, which was not supported by factual evidence. NIA Superintendent Suhas Warke filed an affidavit that under the NIA Act, the agency could probe only scheduled offences such as those falling under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He added that the PIL was based on a presumption on the role of Hindu activists in the murder, and was not based on law and facts. Therefore, legally, the NIA could not probe this matter. The CBI opposed the transfer of the case on the grounds that there were no allegations of incompetence against the Pune police that could justify this transfer. Dabholkar’s daughter Mukta was also allowed to intervene into the case. She argued that since the case was failing to make any headway, it should be transferred to a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
Mukta’s application said her family felt that some precaution against political interference in the investigation was necessary due to the nature of the crime and in view of the upcoming elections. In May 2014, the Bombay High Court passed its judgment favouring Tirodkar and ordered the Dabholkar murder case to be transferred to the CBI.
Order link for the book: The Rationalist Murders.
