Kathmandu, June 23
The two shooters involved in the killing of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar in 2013 are currently in Nepal, The Hindu, an Indian English daily, reported on Thursday, citing sources at Indias Central Bureau of Investigation.
The report titled ‘Dabholkar’s killers hiding in Nepal: CBI’ said the location of accused Sarang Akolkar and his associates has been traced to Nepal. The agency had arrested Dr Virendra Tawde, a former member of the Sanatan Sanstha, on June 10. Dr Tawde has been accused of not only providing logistical support to Dr Dabholkar’s killers but also of being in touch with Akolkar, prime accused in the 2009 Goa blast case.
The agency on Tuesday quizzed Dr Tawde’s wife Nidhi, during which she was also asked about Akolkar’s possible whereabouts. In a two-hour session, CBI officers questioned her on Dr Tawde’s movements and interactions from the time that the murder was planned to when it was executed. Nidhi was a member of the Sanatan Sanstha, but parted ways with Dr Tawde some years ago. She now stays in Panvel with their daughter. The CBI conducted a search at her residence on Tuesday.
The CBI has based its case against Dr Tawde on a string of emails he allegedly exchanged with Akolkar, in which the murder plot has been discussed at length. The investigating team has also found that Dr Tawde had received an email from Goa, in which the plan to target Dr Dabholkar was discussed. The CBI has a copy of the email, sources said.
They added that Dr Tawde, in an email to Akolkar, had said in order to arm a private army of 15,000, their group required funding to purchase weapons. He had also written that if a situation arose wherein finding money became an issue, the right wing group should be prepared to “kill and steal”.
Agency officials also said between 2010 and 2012, Dr Tawde and Akolkar had attended arms training sessions in Goa, Sangli and Pune.
