The Special Investigating Team probing the murder of rationalist and Left leader Govind Pansare suspects role of two more Sanatan Sanstha members, who are absconding in connection with the 2009 Madgaon blast, in the case, police sources said on Monday.
Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Sunday that the Centre cannot interfere in the sexual assault case against Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal.
'At the start of the session, (Prime Minister) bows down at the door of Parliament. This is theatrics'
Dabholkar was shot dead in August, 2013 while Lankesh was shot dead in September, 2017.
Mahatma Gandhi's great-grandson Tushar Gandhi on Thursday opposed a ban on the Sanatan Sanstha, which is under scan for the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, saying banning any organisation is "undemocratic".
The announcement was made by Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy, a day after the city police asked public to share any information that they may have in connection with the case through a specific phone number and e-mail id.
Sameer Gaikwad, in his early 30s, was arrested from Sangli in a joint operation by the Kolhapur and the local police.
Gaikwad's bail application came up before Justice C V Bhadang who adjourned the matter to July 11 with the mutual consent of the accused and the prosecution.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday sought to know from Maharashtra government if it has decided to seek a CBI probe in the Govind Pansare murder case as claimed by the lawyer of family of the slain activist, even as the prosecutor said he has no such instruction so far.
Rama Sene chief detained in Mangaluru on Thursday in connection with the murder of progressive Kannada scholar and researcher Prof M M Kalburgi.
The SIT has summoned the district president of fringe right-wing outfit Sri Ram Sene.
The official said the organisation, composed of people drawn from Hindu right groups, had around 60 members spread across at least five states but had no name.
Journalists from across the country gathered and demanded justice amid call for standing up to "forces" trying to the "muzzle" the voices of dissent.
Meanwhile, the Sanatan Sanstha alleged that Tawde was being 'implicated' by the probe agency on the basis of false allegations levelled by a witness, who himself is facing criminal charges.
The CBI on Wednesday released sketches of two suspects in the case of murder of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabohalkar in Pune last year.
The HC asked the investigators to look beyond their current line of probe to apprehend the culprits.
The police haven't yet made any arrest in the killing of Narendra Dabholkar, five days after the eminent rationalist was shot dead that sparked an outrage and prompted the Maharashtra government to go in for an anti superstition and black magic ordinance.
Journalist Nikhil Wagle, who has been receiving threats from the Sanatan Sanstha, has rejected the security cover offered to him by the Maharashtra government.
The bullets in both cases 'have been fired through a single country made pistol chambered for 7.65 mm caliber pistol cartridges', a source said quoting the report.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for giving credible information about absconding accused Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar in the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.
Dabholkar was shot dead on August 20, 2013 near his home in Pune, while he was on a morning walk.
Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil on Saturday said that his department has not given any clean chit to Hindu outfits in connection with the murder of rationalist activist Narendra Dabholkar.
Rushikesh Devdikar alias Murali, 44, who was absconding was arrested on Thursday from his hideout at Katras in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand, the SIT said in a statement. According to the probe team, Devdikar was part of the conspiracy to kill Lankesh. He is accused number 18 in the case.
'Why she was killed? Because she believed in a certain ideology, she wrote and spoke on that'
A local court on Saturday remanded Virendra Tawade, a member of Hindu Janjagruti Samiti and an accused in the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, to Central Bureau of Investigation custody till June 16.
They claim Wagle has always been writing against them.
'Once you set up a tweet-storm of vilification, labelling individuals anti-nationals, traitors, blasphemous, and foreign agents, you are creating enough justification for somebody with a gun to kill, or for a mob to lynch,' warns Shekhar Gupta.
The film and theatre personality was among the most vocal critics of hardline Hindutva whose security was beefed up following the killing of Lankesh in September last year.
The only thing more dangerous than a killer who thinks he is acting to protect his faith or community is the killer who knows he is acting with the sanction of his faith or community
Locals of Ramnathi in North Goa district where the Sanatan Sanstha is headquartered, have demanded a ban on the right-wing outfit and urged the state government to ensure that its ashram is shifted out of their village failing which they would intensify their agitation against them and their 'sadhaks' (seekers).
An SIT officer probing the murder case said the investigation is in final stage and a chargesheet will be filed in two months.
'If, in the first 48 to 72 hours, they are just on a wild goose chase, then Gauri Lankesh's murder will not get solved.'
'It is worrisome that religion, politics and strong regional biases have pervaded our police force.'
'Now, it feels like the darkness has descended again.'
The police didn't confirm if the weapons used in murder of writer M.M. Kalburgi and Lankesh were similar.
Though the list of superstitious beliefs is long, often dissolving distinctions of class, caste, religion and education, Karnataka's anti-superstition bill is seen as a big step ahead.
Acclaimed writer Nayantara Sahgal, the niece of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, has returned the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award to protest against the "vicious assault" on India's diversity and the government's failure to protect cultural diversity.
'If the Sanatan Sanstha is a threat to peaceful co-existence and Goa's culture, then I must stand up against such threats.'
According to experts, religious and spiritual influences can affect life decisions beyond the normal.
In August 2016, at a meeting of the syndicate, the main members identified Lankesh as a durjan "as told in the Kshatra Dharma Sadhana based on her speeches and writings
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