Narendra Dabholkar murder: Pune court grants CBI 45-day extension to file chargesheet against six accused

Pune: A court on Saturday granted a 45-day extension to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a charge sheet against two of the six accused in the Narendra Dabholkar murder case. Dabholkar, a well-known anti-superstition activist, was shot dead in Pune on 20 August 2013. [caption id=“attachment_5091831” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar. PTI[/caption] The CBI, after invoking relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), had moved an application before the court seeking an extension of 90 days to file the charge sheet against two accused, Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar. Judicial Magistrate (First Class) SMA Sayyad only granted a 45-day extension to the probe agency. On Thursday, public prosecutor BP Raju had argued in the court that the CBI invoked terror charges against the accused as the crime was committed to creating “terror” in society and among social activists. The CBI had said that apart from Dabholkar’s murder, the accused were also involved in the killings of rationalist Govind Pansare, Kannada scholar-writer MM Kalburgi and journalist Gauri Lankesh.