Seven Years After Probe In Dabholkar Murder Case Still Incomplete: Family

Last updated Aug 20, 2020

Mumbai: For last 6 years, CBI has been investigating Dr Narendra Dabholkar’s murder case and has arrested many people. Yet, main mastermind behind murder hasn’t been caught, which is a threat for freethinkers, said Hamid Dabholkar, Activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar’s son on Thursday. Seven years to the day when Dr Narendra Dabholkar, 67, was shot dead on Omkareshwar bridge in Pune on Aug 20 2013, while on his morning walk, there is little clarity on who masterminded the heinous murder and why.

For last 6 years, CBI has been investigating Dr Dabholkar's murder case & arrested many people. Yet, main mastermind behind murder hasn't been caught, which is a threat for freethinkers: Hamid Dabholkar, Activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar's son, who was murdered in Pune in Aug 2013 pic.twitter.com/zxZxto4KBv
— ANI (@ANI) August 20, 2020

Dabholkar, the genial doctor, social activist, rationalist, writer and editor, was the face of the anti-superstition movement in Maharashtra for more than two decades. The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (MANS), which he co-founded, campaigned for social reform and a law against black magic and superstitious practices across religions, saying they exploit the poor and uneducated. Dabholkar had been painted as “anti-Hindu” and had received multiple threats to his life.

The probe into his murder continues to meander, its unhurried pace and listless follow-ups are baffling. After Dabholkar, three other rationalists – Govind Pansare, M.M. Kalburgi, Gauri Lankesh – were similarly shot dead. Multiple agencies grappled with Dabholkar’s case: the Pune Police formed 30 teams, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad arrested two men, before finally the CBI took over in May 2014.