Narendra Dabholkar murder case: Maharashtra court frames charges against 5 accused
Pune(PTI): A special court in Pune on Wednesday framed charges against five accused in the case of murder of anti-superstition activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar.
Dabholkar, who headed the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013, allegedly by members of a right-wing extremist group. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting a probe into the case.
A criminal trial starts once charges are framed.
On Wednesday, Additional Sessions Judge S R Navandar (special judge for UAPA cases) asked the five accused - Virendra Sinh Tawde, Sachin Andure, Sharad Kalaskar, Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave, - if they pleaded guilty, to which all of them replied in the negative.
Tawde, Kalaskar and Andure, who appeared via video-conferencing from their respective jails, sought more time from the court, citing that they want to discuss the matter with their lawyers.
The court, however, rejected the plea.
The other two accused- advocate Punalekar and Bhave - appeared in the court physically.
The court framed charges against Tawde, Andure, Kalaskar, and Bhave under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 302 (murder), 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), 34 (common intention), relevant sections of the Arms Act, and Section 16 of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) (punishment for terrorist act).
Besides, the charges against Punalekar were framed under IPC Section 201 (causing disappearance of the evidence or giving false inform to screen offender).
CBI lawyer and special public prosecutor Prakash Suryavanshi later said the charges have been framed and further proceedings for the trial in the case have been scheduled on September 30.
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Dalit youngster in Raichur denied entry into temple: Video viral
Police, priest, Dalit leaders ‘unaware of matter’
Raichur: The priest of the Ambabhavani Temple in Athkur village has been accused of stopping Dalit youngsters from entering the temple for a ritual related the Navaratri festival, although related parties, including the priest and Dalit leaders of the village, have denied knowledge about the incident.
A video of the youngsters, belonging to the Madiga community, who wanted to wear the ritual garlands for the festive period, being denied entry into the temple and the priest handing them the garlands keeping them outside the threshold has gone viral on social media platforms.
Yapaladinni Police officers, however, have said no police complaint about the matter has been filed so far. In addition, Dalit leaders in Athkur have said no such incident has occurred in the village, but the police officers are conducting an inquiry since youngsters have alleged that they were denied entry into the temple.
The temple priest has also refuted the charges against him, clarifying that action will be taken if a complaint is filed.
