New Delhi: Hindu Janajagruti Samiti member Virendrasingh Tawde was on Wednesday charged-sheeted by the CBI for the 2013 broad daylight killing of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar.
The Samiti allegedly considered Dabholkar ‘dharma drohi’ (traitor to religion). The CBI filed a chargesheet before Judicial Magistrate First Class, Pune, against Tawde, an ENT surgeon who gave up his practice in 2001 to become member of Sanatan Sanstha, levelling charges under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy and murder.
“The motive for the murder of Narendra Dab-holkar was allegedly the long enmity/hatred that existed between two private organisations. Nar-endra Dabholkar was the founder of a Satara-based organisation (Andha-shraddha Nirmulan Samiti) and the accused was part of another private organisation based at Kolhapur (Sanatan Sanstha),” CBI spokesperson said.
The agency has managed to piece together links of Tawde with Sanstha, the shooter-killer Vinay Pawar and another person involved in criminal conspiracy Sarang Akolkar, who is wanted by the NIA in Goa blast case.
A Red Corner Notice is pending against him, sources in the agency said. The piece of evidence with the CBI are emails of Tawde, besides testimony of some persons whose help was sought in the murder of Dabholkar. The slain activist’s campaign against superstitious practices resulted in Maharashtra enacting a law to check them.
