Narendra Dabholkar murder case: SC dismisses plea against bail granted to accused
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea filed by the daughter of slain Maharashtra rationalist Narendra Dabholkar challenging the bail granted by the Bombay High Court to an accused in the case.
Dabholkar, who fought against superstition, was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants in Pune on August 20, 2013. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and SVN Bhatti said the high court has passed a reasoned order while granting bail to the accused in the matter.
''We find no reason to entertain this appeal. Dismissed,'' the bench said.
Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for Mukta Dabholkar, submitted that this is a serious case where during forensic examination one of the witnesses said the accused was involved.
The top court said the high court has found that the statement given by the co-accused does not match and moreover the accused is out on bail since May 6, 2021. Mukta had approached the top court against May 6, 2021 order of the Bombay High Court which had granted bail to Vikram Bhave, an accused in the case of killing of Dabholkar.
The high court had said the material placed by the CBI ''does not appear to show reasonable grounds to conclude that the accusations levelled against Bhave can be said to be prima facie true.'' Bhave was accused of helping two other accused - Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar - who allegedly shot Dabholkar on August 20, 2013 in Pune, with a recce of the spot and escape route after the crime.
Bhave was arrested along with advocate Sanjeev Punalekar on May 25, 2019 by the CBI, on the basis of a statement given by Kalaskar.
Punalekar was granted bail by the sessions court in Pune in June 2019.
Bhave approached the HC in 2021, after a sessions court in Pune rejected his bail plea. It is the CBI's case that Punalekar had instructed Kalaskar to destroy the firearms used in the killing of Dabholkar.
According to the probe agency, Bhave (who used to work as Punalekar's assistant) had accompanied Kalaskar and Andure for a recce of the crime scene and showed them the escape route. A special Pune court had in 2021 framed charges against the alleged mastermind of the crime, Virendra Sinh Tawde. It had charged Tawde and three others with murder and criminal conspiracy, and with terror related offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Another accused Sanjeev Punalekar was charged with destruction of evidence.
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ED cracks down on suspected interstate liquor racket, raids 9 sites in Arunachal
Itanagar (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has carried out coordinated searches at nine locations across Arunachal Pradesh in connection with a suspected large-scale interstate liquor smuggling and money laundering network, officials said on Monday.
The action, taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is part of an expanding probe that points to a syndicate exploiting tax differentials among states.
Officials said liquor designated for sale within Arunachal Pradesh was allegedly diverted and supplied illegally to markets in Assam and other states.
The searches, conducted earlier this week, spanned multiple towns such as Itanagar, Naharlagun, Seppa, Ziro, Daporijo, Namsai and Roing, targeting wholesale liquor businesses suspected of being linked to the network.
According to officials, the investigation stems from a series of FIRs registered by Assam Police over the illegal transportation of liquor from Arunachal Pradesh into Assam.
Inputs from the Assam Excise Department further strengthened the case. An Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was registered on October 17, 2024, and later widened through an addendum incorporating 173 additional FIRs.
Earlier searches conducted on February 4 last year, at premises linked to three alleged key operators, believed to be major liquor manufacturers, had revealed indications of a well-coordinated operation.
Investigators suspect that the network functioned through a chain of manufacturers, bonded warehouses and wholesalers, while masking real ownership using proxy arrangements such as tribal partnerships and dummy licence holders.
During the latest ED operations, the agency found that several wholesale units were operating under proxy licences issued in the names of local individuals, while actual control remained with the suspected masterminds.
Financial scrutiny revealed that between 51 and 90 per cent of total credits in certain bank accounts comprised unexplained cash deposits.
Investigators also flagged a pattern of invoice splitting, with transactions deliberately kept below Rs 2 lakh to avoid scrutiny. In one instance, more than 200 invoices of identical value of Rs 1,99,554 were generated within a single month at one location.
On-ground staff reportedly confirmed that records, including stock registers and daily cash collections, were being routed to offices associated with the alleged controllers.
The ED said it seized approximately Rs 40 lakh in unaccounted cash during the searches.
In a significant finding, 14 seals, some purportedly belonging to the Excise Department of the Arunachal Pradesh government, were recovered from one of the premises. These are suspected to have been used to create fake transport permits to facilitate the unauthorised movement of liquor.
Further investigation is underway, officials added.
