The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Vikram Bhave, an accused in the case of the killing of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in 2013.
Bhave was accused of helping two other accused – Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar – who allegedly shot Dabholkar on August 20, 2013, in Pune, with a recce of the spot and escape route after the crime.
A division bench of Justices S S Shinde and Manish Pitale granted bail to Bhave on a surety of ₹1 lakh to Bhave and directed him to appear before the police station concerned in Pune every day for a period of one month, and then every second day for two months.
The court also directed Bhave to attend the trial in the case and not tamper with any evidence or witnesses. It also directed him not to indulge in any illegal activities. Advocate Sandesh Patil, appearing for the CBI, the prosecuting agency, sought a stay of the order.
However, the high court refused. Bhave was arrested along with advocate Sanjeev Punalekar on May 25, 2019, by the CBI, on the basis of a statement given by Kalaskar.
Punalekar was granted bail by the sessions court in Pune in June 2019. Bhave approached the HC earlier this year after a sessions court in Pune rejected his bail plea. It is the CBI’s case that Punalekar had instructed Kalaskar to destroy the firearms used in the killing of Dabholkar.
Surjitt Sahani
