On 20th August 2013, Dr Narendra Dabholkar, who called himself a ‘rationalist’, was murdered on Pune Omkareshwar Bridge. Dabholkar was an atheist and anti-superstition ‘activist’. He spent most of his life advocating a ban on religious practices which he believed were “irrational religious” practices. His murder case is most likely concluding on 10th May 2024. Information in this report is extracted from author Amit Thadani’s book ‘The Rationalist Murders: Diary of a Ruined Investigation’.
Dabholkar and anti-superstition bill
Dr Narendra Dabholkar was a medical doctor by profession who transitioned to activism. He founded the organisation named Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS) which campaigned against practices that they believed were harmful and superstitious. Because of his activism, he was often at odds with religious groups, especially Hindu groups as most of his campaigns were against Hindu religious practices. In 2003, he proposed an anti-superstition bill in the Maharashtra Assembly aimed at criminalising acts of black magic, sacrifices and other practices termed as religious rituals.
Notably, the bill talked about animal sacrifices in front of the idols but left out animal sacrifices on the Islamic festival Eid as they were not slaughtered in front of an idol. Several provisions directly targeted Hindu practices resulting in criticism and opposition by several Hindu groups that argued that the bill targeted their religious practices.
Religious sentiments of millions of Hindus were hurt because of the criminalised provisions against the wari (yatra) where lakhs of devotees walk barefoot, Karnavedha (a Hindu tradition of piercing ears), and homas / havans.
Because of the opposition faced by the religious groups, the then-Congress-led Government of Maharashtra removed 17 out of 28 original provisions to alleviate the protests. However, the bill remained a point of contention and was often seen as an attack on Hindu traditions. The aim of the bill should have been to protect the public from exploitation but Dabholkar, his organisation and the state government failed to take religious groups into confidence mostly due to targeted attacks on Hindu practices.
Accusations against Narendra Dabhokar’s organisation
It has to be noted that though Urban Naxal is a relatively new term, in 2011, the MANS’s (or ANiS) name appeared as the 50th number in the list of 62 organisations that support the Naxal movement. Notably, the report came out when Congress was in power in Maharashtra. The organisations and people who found their place in that list are often called “Urban Naxals” in modern terminology.
Furthermore, ANiS was also accused of accepting massive foreign funding. There were financial irregularities leading to the cancellation of their FCRA licence by the Modi government. Also, the Assistant Charity Commissioner, District Satara sent his proposal for the conduct of a special audit of Anis to the Joint Charity Commissioner for a final decision, since two of the subordinate officers had pointed out financial irregularities and the Joint Charity Commissioner has called for an explanation from the trust as to why special audit should not be conducted and administrator not be appointed. The issue is still pending before the Joint Charity Commissioner, Pune.
Surprisingly, the statements issued by Dr Narendra Dabholkar (before his death), and those issued by the trustees were contradictory. Even though it was suspicious, the agencies investigating the Dr Dabholkar murder case have not investigated this discrepancy and its connection with the case.
Murder of Narendra Dabholkar
On the morning of 20th August 2013, Dabholkar was on his regular morning walk. Two assailants came on a motorcycle and fatally shot him from behind. It was an execution-style killing that led to the belief that it was a premeditated attack. The assailants managed to escape despite the presence of a police nakabandi and chowki nearby indicating there was a possible lapse in security or surveillance in the area.
Accusations against Hindu groups and targeting Sanatan Sanstha
Almost immediately after the murder, Sanatan Sanstha became the prime target of the media trial. Sanatan Sanstha had vehemently opposed the anti-superstition bill and was previously linked to other violent acts. However, the accusations against the Hindu organisation were based primarily on ideological conflicts rather than concrete evidence. It led to widespread criticism of the investigating agencies and experts believed there was bias in the investigative approach.
Investigation and its discontents
Initially, the investigation was handled by the Pune Police. Before UPA went out of power, the investigation was handed over the to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on 9th May 2014 on the directions of Bombay High Court.
The first two arrests made in the case were of Vikas Khandelwal and Manish Nagori based on ballistic evidence that linked the two to the murder weapon. The Murder weapon was found in their custody. However, the link was later deemed inconclusive. Furthermore, the witnesses present at the scene of the crime failed to identify the two leading to their release.
On 1st June 2016, CBI raided Sanatan Ashram and Dr Virendrasingh Tawade’s house in Panvel and Mr Sarang Akolkar’s locked house in Pune. Virendra Singh Tawade was summoned for ten days between 1st June 2016 to 10th June 2016 by the investigating agency for questioning. He was arrested on the last day.
As per CBI, one of the witnesses Sanjay Sadwilkar claimed Virendrasingh approached him to make a pistol. When he showed reluctance, he asked him to procure bullets. All this, according to Sadwilkar, happened between April 2013 and June 2013.
Notably, Sadwilkar, a silversmith from Kolhapur, was named in a corruption case exposed by Hindu Janajagruti Samiti and other Hindu Organizations in 2015. In March 2016, he came forward as a witness in the case. He confessed before the court that he harboured animosity towards the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti. Initially, he claimed there was a heated argument between Narendra Dabholkar and Tawade during an event however later he confessed nothing like that happened.
During the investigation and trial, it was evident that his statements, at best, remained a personal opinion due to his suspicion and bias.
Over the years, CBI shifted its focus among several suspects including Dr Virendrasingh Tawade and two individuals who were linked to Madgoan Blast Case and were said to be absconding i.e. Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar. It was claimed that this two persons shot Dabholkar dead. Each time the shift of the investigation was more of a reactive one rather than based on thorough investigation.
The eyewitnesses also remained inconsistent in their testimonies and failed to reliably identify the suspects. The credibility of witnesses like Kiran Kamble and Vinay Kelkar was among those that came under scrutiny.
How killers and masterminds changed over time
In 2014, Pune Police released Vikas Khandelwal and Manish Nagori. CBI SP and investigation officer SR Singh faced questions during cross-examination on why no investigation was conducted on this aspect and it was only thereafter that a closure report was filed in 2023 providing clean chit to both of them without rational explanation.
In 2016, CBI claimed Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar were the shooters since Kamble and Kelkar allegedly identified them and Tawade was the mastermind.
In 2018, after a series of arrests in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, the CBI claimed Sachin Andhure and Sharad Kalaskar were shooters in the Narendra Dabholkar Murder case while Tawade remained the mastermind. Interestingly, their photographs were identified by the same witnesses who named other accused as shooters in 2016.
In 2019, CBI arrested advocate Sanjiv Punalekar claiming he advised Sharad Kalaskar to throw away the pistol used in the crime. Sharad was also later arrested in accused the Gauri Lankesh murder case. CBI also claimed he confessed before police commissioner Abhinav Khare but he was never presented before the Pune Court. Later, Punalekar was released on bail.
Throughout the investigation, there were multiple procedural lapses including improper handling of evidence and failure of the investigation agency to conduct the necessary identification parades as per the CBI manual.
Media trials and public perception
It has to be noted that the entire case was heavily influenced by the media coverage. It was more over sensationalism than ethical journalism. Notably, there was a planchette session organised by a journalist where it was claimed that they invoked the spirit of Dr Dabholkar’s spirit to identify his killers. . A sting operation was organised by then-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashish Khetan. Reportedly, he carried out a “sting operation” where Dabholkar’s ghost was seen claiming via a planchette medium that Sanatan Sanstha was behind his murder. The video was shared with the public.
It was an irony that they organised such a session to find the killers of someone who spent his whole life opposing such paranormal sessions. It was widely criticised for undermining the seriousness of the investigation and illustrated a widely accepted trial-by-media phenomenon.
Unresolved questions and judicial oversight
There have been several unresolved questions throughout the investigation. Several leads and pieces of evidence were mishandled or ignored by the investigating agencies. The question about the handling of ballistic evidence, the mysterious presence of foreign materials at the crime scene and the ultimate disposal of the murder weapon never found a proper investigative conclusion. It highlighted that there were significant gaps in the investigative process and suggested that either there was incompetence or deliberate obstruction.
