The prosecution team in the murder case of rationalist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar has formally communicated to a special court that it has completed presenting its evidence in the case. Special Public Prosecutor Prakash Suryawanshi confirmed this development and noted that the court has now requested the defense to respond to the prosecution’s declaration regarding the conclusion of evidence.
In accordance with procedural requirements, the prosecution submitted a ‘pursis’ (a statement of fact) to Special Judge P. P. Jadhav, indicating the completion of evidence presentation. Alongside this submission, they also filed a final report summarizing the entirety of the investigation.
Dr. Narendra Dabholkar was tragically shot dead while on a morning walk in Pune on August 20, 2013. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) subsequently filed a chargesheet against five individuals: Virendra Sinh Tawde, Sachin Andure, Sharad Kalaskar, Sanjeev Punalekar, and Vikram Bhave.
Special Public Prosecutor Suryawanshi clarified, “In the final report, we mentioned that we have not filed a chargesheet against (the other five) accused Manish Nagori, Vikas Khandelwal, Amol Kale, Rajesh Bangera, and Amit Degvekar as there was no prosecutable evidence against them.”
Notably, arms dealers Nagori and Khandelwal were arrested by the Pune police in November 2013 in connection with Dabholkar’s murder. The CBI arrested Kale, Bangera, and Degvekar in 2018. However, all five individuals were granted default bail after the CBI failed to file chargesheets against them within the stipulated 90-day period.
Suryawanshi explained, “Nagori and Khandelwal got default bail as no one identified them during the test identification parade, and no chargesheet was filed against them. Besides, the CBI did not file a chargesheet against Kale, Bangera, and Degvekar, and in the final report, we mentioned that no chargesheet was filed against these three accused as there was no evidence found against them.”
With the court now seeking the defense’s response to the conclusion of evidence and the final report, the legal process will move forward. This will include recording statements from the accused under CrPC 313 (C), followed by an opportunity for the defense to decide whether they wish to call any witnesses during the trial.
