A special court in Pune on Sunday remanded lawyer Sanjay Punalekar and Sanatan Sanstha member Vikram Bhave to the Central Bureau of Investigation’s custody till June 1, PTI reported. This comes a day after the two were arrested in connection with the murder case of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.
Investigating agencies allege that Punalekar and Bhave were involved in tampering evidence in the murder case and also had links to the two assailants.
Punalekar had allegedly told Sharad Kalaskar – one of the shooters arrested in the case – to destroy the weapons that were used to kill Dabholkar and journalist Gauri Lankesh, the CBI told the court on Sunday, according to PTI. The investigating agency also said that Bhave had allegedly provided assistance to the shooters and inspected the area where Dabholkar was shot.
The CBI counsel told the court that it needed more time to investigate the specific roles of Punalekar and Bhave in the case, The Hindu reported.
On August 20, 2013, Dabholkar was shot dead in Pune when he was out on a morning walk. So far, the CBI has arrested six persons in connection with the murder. In November 2018, the CBI had invoked terror charges against the accused.
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