Prime suspect and Sanatan Sanstha member Virendra Tawde was nabbed in Navi Mumbai

The CBI on Friday made its first arrest in the >murder of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar.

Sources told The Hindu that Dr. Virendra Tawde, a member of the Sanatan Sanstha, was arrested on Friday night.

Dr. Tawde, who had emerged as a prime suspect in the CBI investigation, was questioned by the agency over the last three to four days before being arrested in Navi Mumbai on Friday night. Investigations have revealed several email exchanges between Tawde and Sarang Akolkar, another Sanatan Sanstha member and a suspect in the murder case, who is currently absconding.

Dr. Dabholkar was shot dead by unidentified assailants on the morning of August 20, 2013 while he was on a morning walk near the Omkareshwar temple in Pune. He sustained bullet injuries in his head and chest and died on the spot. The case was being investigated by several agencies, including the Pune police and the Mumbai Police Crime Branch before it was transferred to the CBI two years back.

“It is a major development and we hope that the case will reach its logical conclusion at the soonest,” said Dr. Dabholkar’s son Hamid.

The CBI had also searched Tawde's residence in Panvel last week.