MUMBAI: How to pay Rs 5 crore import duty for an operation that’s worth Rs 2 crore — that’s the dilemma troubling the authorities seeking to unravel the mysterious weapons connecting the murders of four rationalists — Narendra Dabholkar Govind Pansare , MM Kalburgi and journalist Gauri Lankesh These weapons are suspected to be stuck in a creek somewhere outside Mumbai. If found, they would be propped as the main evidence against the members of Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS) who are being investigated by the probe agencies in the murders.However, attempts to locate the weapons have been futile so far and investigators now plan to rope in a Dubai-based company to help trace them. But here lies the catch: while the Dubai firm has given a budget of Rs 2 crore towards operational charge, Rs 5 crore will have to be paid on import duty as some of the equipment necessary to conduct the searches have to be imported, said an official in the know of things.“After Sharad Kalaskar, one of the arrested assailants in the Dabholkar murder case confessed to throwing four weapons common to the murders in a creek in Thane. The Indian Navy , Coastguard and ONCG were approached to help in the search operations, but they have either cited lack of equipment, or expertise, to conduct such operations in marshy lands,” said the official.The agency has recently told the Bombay High Court supervising the case that they are also awaiting a green signal from the environmental authorities to venture into the marshy lands.“Both Maharashtra and Karnataka governments are keen the cases be cracked and the evidence gathered against the accused should be irrefutable. Therefore, the weapons, if recovered, and after the ballistic examination confirming the same, it would the most crucial evidence in the case. The two governments have in-principle agreed to divide the cost but the CBI has written to the customs department seeking exemption,” said another person familiar with the matter.The central agency is awaiting a response from the customs department. Meanwhile, the agency is trying to study the letters recovered from accused Sanatan Sanstha’s counsel Sanjeev Punalekar, who had addressed the letters to a certain ‘sadguru’ in the outfit’s Goa office.