The Maharashtra Crime Investigation Department (CID), which is probing the 2015 murder case of activist Govind Pansare, has been directed by the Bombay High Court to submit a report giving details of the progress in the investigation from 2020 to date.
A bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and VG Bisht on Thursday granted the CID four weeks to submit its report. The CID last submitted a status report in the case in 2020.
The HC was hearing two petitions and several applications filed by the family members of Pansare and slain rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, seeking that the court monitors the probe into the two killings. State CID is probing Pansare’s case whereas the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the Dabholkar murder case.
At the government’s request, the HC permitted it to relieve Additional SP Tirupati Kakade, the investigating officer (IO) in the Pansare case. Kakade is due for a transfer after heading the probe for over four-and-a-half years.
The government sought the court’s permission for relieving her since an earlier HC order mandated that none of the officers probing the two cases be changed/ transferred without its permission.
The HC has directed the government to appoint a new IO of the additional SP rank within four weeks. Only after that Kakade can take charge of his new posting, HC has said.
The SIT comprised 15 officers, of whom two retired recently and one had died of COVID-19, the court was informed.
During the hearing on Thursday, Abhay Nevagi, advocate for Pansare’s family, informed the court that the state police has not made any headway in the case even after seven years of the killing.
An application was filed by Pansare’s family claiming the killings of Dabholkar, Pansare, Kannada activist and academic MM Kalburgi and journalist turned activist Gauri Lankesh were all “linked”. It sought that the probe is handed over to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
However, the HC refused to pass any directions in the application saying: “Let them (state CID) first give the status report from 2020 to 2022 (in the Pansare case).”
Dhabolkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013, in Pune while he was on a morning walk. Pansare was shot at on February 16, 2015 in Kolhapur and succumbed to his injuries a few days later on February 20. Kalburgi was shot to death in Dharwad, Karnataka, on August 30, 2015.
The agencies probing the three killings said in court on previous occasions that the cases had some common links and accused persons.
