CBI officers who supervised investigations into the rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata and the killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar are among those awarded police medals on Republic Day.
Indrani Mukerjea, in pure white, sporting dancing pearl jhumkas, bobbed about the accused box, occasionally floating up front to whisper urgent suggestions to her lawyer Ranjeet Sangle as retired cop and prosecution witness Dinesh Kadam gave her a long look. Vaihayasi Pande Daniel returns to cover the Sheena Bora murder trial after 18 months.
Former IPS officer Meeran Borwankar claims political interference hindered justice in the Malegaon and 7/11 blasts, and the Narendra Dabholkar murder case. She cited instances of pressure on investigators and prosecutors.
Dabholkar (67), an anti-superstition crusader, was shot dead while on a morning walk on Omkareshwar Bridge here on August 20, 2013.
The investigating agencies could not expose the masterminds behind the murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, and must introspect whether it was a mere failure or a 'deliberate inaction' due to the influence of any 'person in power', the trial court here said on Friday in its judgment.
Additional sessions judge A A Jadhav of the special court for cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is likely to pronounce the judgement on Friday, said special public prosecutor Prakash Suryawanshi.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and SVN Bhatti said the high court has passed a reasoned order while granting bail to the accused in the matter.
The year started on a sad note for the Mukherjee family.
Remarks by Congress and NCP (SP) leaders in Maharashtra suggesting the term 'Sanatani terrorist' have sparked a controversy, drawing strong criticism from the BJP, which accuses them of 'Hindu hatred' and 'appeasement politics'.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation whether there was any "common thread" in the murders of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, Communist Party of India leader Govind Pansare, activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh and scholar M M Kalburgi.
However, a lawyer representing Dabholkar's daughter claimed before the court that the CBI has not investigated the case properly and there are many loopholes that are yet to be probed.
Jayant Narlikar wrote alternative what-if histories, explained difficult scientific theories with funny analogies, and leavened his lectures with jokes and humorous asides.
Shah also said that such murders have taken place in Pakistan too, mentioning the violent deaths of politician Salman Taseer and rights activist Sabeen Mehmood.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has argued in a court that the five accused in the 2013 murder case of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar be tried under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for striking "terror among a section of people".
'I am determined now to celebrate all festivals together.' 'People don't respond much when you try to convince them by talking about principles of secularism etc. But if we revive our shared cultural practices, specially food, we may get a better response.'
Dabholkar, who headed the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013, allegedly by members of a right-wing extremist group. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting a probe into the case.
The Bombay High Court has discontinued its monitoring of the investigation into the 2015 murder of communist leader and rationalist writer Govind Pansare, directing the sessions court to expedite the ongoing trial. The decision comes after a report by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) indicated that the investigation has been thoroughly conducted, with only the arrest of two absconding accused remaining. The court has ordered daily hearings for the trial, which has already begun and has seen 28 prosecution witnesses examined as of December 16, 2024.
The defence on Wednesday refused to admit the list of 13 documents, including the spot 'panchnama', submitted by the prosecution in the rationalist Narendra Dabholkar murder case in a court here in Maharashtra.
Dabholkar was shot dead in August, 2013 while Lankesh was shot dead in September, 2017.
A foreign sea explorer agency recovered the firearm from a creek in neighbouring Thane district of Maharashtra.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday submitted to a special court here a list of documents and witnesses that it would like to rely upon in the trial of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar murder case.
The conspiracy was hatched by Virendra Sinh Tawde (already arrested), Kalaskar and others, CBI lawyer said.
Activist Narendra Dabholkar, who was in the forefront of a campaign to persuade Maharashtra government to pass an anti-superstition and black magic bill, was shot dead in Pune on Tuesday morning by unknown assailants.
Claiming that there was a link between the accused in the two cases, the CBI on Friday took the custody of Bangera and Digvekar from the Karnataka SIT.
The Bombay high court on Thursday granted bail to Vikram Bhave, an accused in the killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in 2013.
The probe agency told the court that Andure is one of the two assailants who shot at Dabholkar at Omkareshwar Bridge here on August 20, 2013.
The HC asked the investigators to look beyond their current line of probe to apprehend the culprits.
Quite a few film folk and politicians attended the funeral of veteran actor Atul Parchure, who died on October 14 after a long battle with cancer. He was 57.
So far, six people, including Hindu Janajagruti Samiti member and ENT surgeon Virendrasinh Tawde, Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar, have been arrested by the CBI in connection with the killing of Dabholkar.
Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013 near his home in Pune, while he was on a morning walk.
CBI lawyer B P Raju sought further custodial interrogation of the accused, saying he was not cooperating with the investigating agency.
The Maharashtra government dillydallied for over seven years to pass the anti-superstition and black magic bill, and it took the murder of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar, who tirelessly pushed for the bill, to goad it into passing it through the ordinance route at its cabinet meeting on Wednesday as a tribute to him
A worker of right-wing organistaion Sanatan Sanstha picked up from Goa by Pune police, as part of their probe into the murder of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar.
Reason must triumph over blind faith, says Praful Bidwai in this tribute to murdered rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.
Expressing anguish over no breakthrough in rationalist Narendra Dabholkar murder case even after a month, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday alleged the killing could be "state-sponsored" one.
The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday informed the Bombay high court that it cannot probe into the murder of anti-superstition activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar as the offence fell under the Indian Police Code and was not covered under the purview of NIA Act.
.jpg)
Sanatan Sanstha, the Hindu right-wing group often at loggerheads with Narendra Dabholkar, on Wednesday sought to distance itself from the anti-superstition activist's killing.
Hamid Dabholkar, son of the slain rationalist thinker and founder of Maharastra Andhshradha Nirmulan Samiti, said there is a "striking similarity" between the three murders.
The rationalist has proved to be a greater voice of reason in death than he was during his lifetime.
Dabholkar, who has taken as many as 27 wickets in six games so far, and off-spinner Ankush Jaiswal - in his Ranji debut against Madhya Pradesh in Indore, were reported by the umpires to have flexed their elbows beyond the 15-degree permissible limit in the game and cannot play till their rectified action is cleared by the board.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances