Dabholkar murder case: CBI's final report seeks discharge of three accused
Pune (PTI): The prosecution in the case of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar's murder has informed a special court here that it has concluded the evidence in the case.
The court has now sought the defence say on the prosecution's submission of the conclusion of evidence, special public prosecutor Prakash Suryawanshi said on Thursday.
As a procedural part, the prosecution on Wednesday submitted 'pursis' (a statement of fact) before the court of Special Judge P P Jadhav, stating they have concluded the evidence in the case and filed a final report of the summary of the entire investigation, he said.
Dabholkar was shot dead while on a morning walk in Pune on August 20, 2013.
The CBI had filed a chargesheet against five accused -namely Virendra Sinh Tawde, Sachin Andure, Sharad Kalaskar, Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave.
"In the final report, we mentioned that we have not filed a chargesheet against (the other five) accused Manish Nagori, Vikas Khandelwal, Amol Kale, Rajesh Bangera and Amit Degvekar as there was no prosecutable evidence against them," Suryawanshi said.
The Pune police arrested arms dealers Nagori and Khandelwal in November 2013 in connection with Dabholkar's murder, while the CBI arrested Kale, Bangera and Degvekar in 2018. However, all the five got default bail after the CBI failed to file a chargesheet against them in the 90-day period.
"Nagori and Khandelwal got the default bail as no one identified them during the test identification parade and no chargesheet was filed against them. Besides, the CBI did not file a chargesheet against Kale, Bangera and Degvekar and in the final report, we mentioned that no chargesheet was filed against these three accused as there was no evidence found against them," Suryawanshi said.
He said the court has now sought the defence say on the prosecution's submission of the conclusion of the evidence and final report.
After seeking the response from other side, the process to record statements of the accused under CrPC 313 (C) will start, and after the statements the court will ask the defence whether they want to produce any witnesses in the trial.0
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India will ensure zero casualty during heat waves: Shah
Ghaziabad (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said his ministry has prepared a plan to ensure zero human casualty during heat waves in the country in the next few years with the underlying principle of being "proactive" rather than "reactive" towards disasters.
The minister spoke after he presented the President's Colour to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) at the campus of its 8th battalion here.
The President's Colour flag is awarded to a military or police unit for rendering exceptional service.
The honour came to the force in the 20th year of its establishment after it was raised in 2006 as a federal contingency force to undertake relief and rescue operations during natural and man-made disasters.
The President's Colour is not just a "recognition" for the excellent services of the NDRF but also of all the state disaster response forces, the state machinery, the NCC (National Cadet Corps), NSS (National Service Scheme), 'Apda Seva Mitras' (volunteers) among others, Shah said.
He added that the NDRF has earned the "admiration and trust" of the people of the country and even abroad through its operations.
The minister said the aim of the Modi government was to ensure "zero casualty and minimum property damage" during tragedies and calamities, including cyclones, earthquakes and floods.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has prepared a plan to better combat the "serious challenge" of heat waves in the country and we will be able to ensure "zero casualty" in this context over the next few years, Shah said.
Our approach and policy has been "proactive" against disasters rather than being just "reactive", he said.
Shah said India has made its name as a "global leader" in disaster management and being the "first responder" during calamities as he asked the NDRF to prepare itself in the face of global warming and climate change.
The NDRF has 16 operational battalions deployed across the country with an overall strength of about 18,000 personnel.
Speaking during the event, NDRF Director General (DG) Piyush Anand said the force has undertaken more than 12,000 operations since its creation.
