Dabholkar murder trial: Polygraph tests pointed to role of Sanatan Sanstha members, says CBI officer
Retired Superintendent of Police with the CBI, SR Singh, who investigated the murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar, said on Tuesday during his cross examination in a Special Court that a probe following the polygraph tests of two Sanatan Sanstha followers brought to light the alleged role of members of the outfit in the murder.
Singh also told the court that he had questioned psychiatrist and Sanatan Sanstha founder Dr Jayant Balaji Athawale in February 2016 in connection to the murder probe, but nothing incriminating came to light.
Singh, who probed the Dabholkar murder from 2016 till his retirement in 2022, is currently deposing as witness before the trial court of Additional Sessions Judge S R Navandar, which is the designated Special Court for cases under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) cases. His cross examination by defence lawyers Prakash Salsingikar, Virendra Ichalkaranjikar and Suvarna Avhad Vast is underway.
Founder of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, Dabholkar was shot dead by two bike-borne assailants on the VR Shinde bridge in Pune on the morning of August 20 in 2013. The five accused who are being tried for murder include include ENT surgeon Dr Virendrasinh Tawade who was chargesheeted in September 2016, the two alleged assailants Sachin Andure and Sharad Kalaskar who were chargesheeted in February 2019, Mumbai-based lawyer Sanjeev Punalekar and his aide Vikram Bhave who were chargesheeted by in November 2019. All these accused, according to the CBI, are linked to Sanatan Sanstha.
Answering a question by Salsingikar on the polygraph tests of Sanatan Sanstha members Hemant Shinde and Nilesh Shinde, Singh said their names had figured in the probe conducted by the CBI investigation officer preceding him. “During my investigation, polygraph tests of both of them were conducted following court permission. And they were found to be deceptive.” Singh said.
Answering the follow-up question whether any probe was conducted based on the tests, Singh said that probe revealed that the members of Sanatan Sanstha were allegedly involved in the murder. He further told the court that the polygraph tests were part of the case diary of the investigation. He also said that the CBI did not move for the narcoanalysis of the two because they did not consent to it.
The polygraph test measures various physiological markers to indicate whether a person is possibly lying or telling the truth. The narco analysis, on the other hand, is a psychological investigation of the subject under after administration a specified category of sedatives under medical supervision.
The defence counsel also asked Singh whether the family members of Dr Dabholkar had any complaints about the CBI probe which they had time to time submitted to the High Court. Singh said, “According to the family members of Dr Dabholkar, the role of the higher-ups in Sanatan Sanstha in the murder was not looked into by us.” He also stated that his allegation was incorrect. Singh told the court, “I investigated the role of higher-ups above Tawade in Sanatan Sanstha in the case. I also recorded the statement of founder Dr Jayant Balaji Athawale at Sanatan Sanstha headquarters on February 5, 2016. And nothing incriminating was found in that.”
The defence counsel also questioned Singh about illegal firearms dealer Manish Nagori and Vilas Khandelwal who were arrested by Pune city police in connection to the murder in June 2014. Singh told the court that while Pune police arrested the two, they were never chargesheeted in the case and were subsequently released on the default bail.
