Dabholkar murder: Court grants CBI 45-day extension to file charge sheet

Pune, Nov 17: A court here on Saturday granted a 45-day extension to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a charge sheet against two of the six accused in the Narendra Dabholkar murder case.

Dabholkar, a well-known anti-superstition activist, was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013. The CBI, after invoking relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), had moved an application before the court seeking an extension of 90 days to file the charge sheet against two accused, Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar.

Judicial Magistrate (First Class) S M A Sayyad only granted a 45-day extension to the probe agency. On Thursday, public prosecutor B P Raju had argued in the court that the CBI invoked terror charges against the accused as the crime was committed to create "terror" in society and among social activists.

The CBI had said that apart from Dabholkar's murder, the accused were also involved in the killings of rationalist Govind Pansare, Kannada scholar-writer M M Kalburgi and journalist Gauri Lankesh.

PTI