Seven years on, probe into Dabholkar's murder still not over
Pune: Hameed Dabholkar, son of the slain anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar, said here on Tuesday that it was "painful" that even after seven years, the probe into his father's murder has not reached a conclusion.
Dr Narendra Dabholkar, founder of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (Maharashtra Eradication of Superstition Committee), was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants in Pune on August 20, 2013.
Dr Hameed Dabholkar, his son, said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should complete the probe and arrest the "main perpetrators".
"On Thursday, it will be seven years to the incident. It is painful that after seven years, a reputed investigation agency such as the CBI has not been able to complete the probe," he told reporters.
The agency has filed charge sheets against Virendra Tawde, Sharad Kalaskar, Sachin Andure, Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave, but not against remaining arrested accused -- Amol Kale, Amit Degvekar and Rajesh Bangera, he said.
"In the investigation so far, it has not yet made it clear who were the real perpetrators. The CBI should find them. Otherwise, the threat to the freedom of speech of writers, rationalists and journalists will remain," he added.
"When Dr Dabholkar was murdered, the congress-NCP government was in power. When Comrade Govind Pansare was murdered (in 2015), there was BJP-Shiv Sena government and now there is a coalition government of Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP," he said.
All the parties like to use the epithet "progressive" for Maharashtra, Hameed Dabholkar said.
"In fact, the 'progressive Maharashtra of Shahu-Phule and Ambedkar' is a mandatory phrase in the speeches. But unfortunately, the investigation of the murder of a person who gave up his entire life to create a society based on progressive thoughts is not completed after seven years," he said.
So far the CBI has arrested eight people including Andure and Kalaskar, the duo who allegedly shot Dabholkar.
One of the accused, Punalekar, is out on bail.
In March this year, the CBI claimed to have recovered a firearm from a creek near Thane which it said could have been used in the killing.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
MediaOne TV Facebook page restored after block linked to ‘government request’
Kochi: The official Facebook page of Malayalam news channel MediaOne TV has been restored after being blocked without prior notice, the broadcaster said on Wednesday.
The channel was quoted by Maktoob as saying that the restriction was lifted automatically, with Meta Platforms informing it that the action had been taken following a “government request” which has now expired or been reversed.
The development came shortly after the channel approached the Kerala High Court challenging the blocking of its page, terming it arbitrary and in violation of legal provisions and judicial precedents. The High Court had issued notice to Meta via email hours before the restriction was withdrawn.
In its petition, the channel said access to its Facebook page had been restricted for users in India without citing any specific content or alleged violation. It contended that while individual posts may be taken down under applicable a rule, blocking an entire page goes beyond the scope of such measures.
The incident followed an earlier action taken against the channel in 2022, when the Ministry of Information and transmitting prohibited it from transmitting. It cited national security concerns regarding the Ministry of Home Affairs' refusal of security clearance.
The Supreme Court of India in April 2023 set aside the ban, observing that national security claims cannot be made without substantive basis and that criticism of government policies does not render a media outlet anti-national.
