Dr Narendra Dabholkar. File Dr Narendra Dabholkar. File

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has announced a Rs 5 lakh reward for giving information about Sarang Akolkar and Vinay Pawar, both accused in murder of Pune-based rationalist and activist Narendra Dabholkar. Dabholkar was 68 at the time of his death. He was the influence behind the anti-superstition bill which was pending in Maharashtra Assembly for 18 years.

Earlier in January, the investigative agency had confronted two former Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officers and a former senior inspector of Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of Thane Police with Vikas Khandelwal, a Kolhapur resident arrested by Maharashtra Police in 2013 in connection with the murder.

Khandelwal, who was arrested within hours of Dabholkar’s murder on August 20, 2013, has reportedly told CBI that ATS registered a fake case against him and his associate Manish Nagori. He is also learnt to have alleged that they were forced to confess to the murder during interrogation. In the meantime, the Bombay High Court in January had expressed displeasure over the “tardy” investigations by both the investigating agencies in the murder cases of rationalists Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare. The high court pulled up the CBI and SIT and said considerable time and energy had been wasted by the agencies in investigating the cases.

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