#dnaEdit: No one killed Dabholkar

Two years have gone by since the fearless anti-superstition activist Dr Narendra Dabholkar was shot dead in Pune when he was on a morning walk. The long arm of the law couldn’t catch up with his killers. They proved smarter than the state police and the CBI. Dabholkar’s bullet-ridden body was a chilling message from the miracle industry, which was angry with his crusade against fake sadhus, tantriks and dubious babas and their thriving evil practices. By silencing the rationalist, his adversaries thought they had won the battle. And, indeed they have because two successive governments helmed by two different political alliances have allowed the killers to get away.

It was no ordinary crime because Dabholkar was no ordinary man. He was a David, taking on Goliaths who have money, muscle power and political influence to change the course of investigations or stymie the probe.

The spontaneous outrage in the wake of the killing was a measure of love and respect people bestowed upon him. Their mourning was imbued with gratitude for a crusader, whose work had touched their lives and broadened their horizon. A similar outpouring of grief and shock had marked the death of senior CPI leader Govind Pansare, who was attacked in an identical manner. Pansare had railed against Hindutva forces, opposing the glorification of Nathuram Godse. His killers, too, are at large. 

Maharashtra became the first state to enact The Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act 2013, which was drafted by Dabholkar. But, it has turned a blind eye to the activities of the Corleones of faux spirituality. It’s evident from the abysmal rate of conviction --- just 1, though 150 cases have been filed so far. It is only now that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered the formation of a seven-member police team to assist the CBI, which had attributed the sluggish pace of investigations to lack of manpower. The same CBI, which claims to be hobbled by resource crunch, has demonstrated uncharacteristic determination and focus while hounding activist Teesta Setalvad. What boggles the rational mind further is that even after questioning about a thousand tantriks and sadhus who stand to benefit from his death, and releasing the sketches of two suspected murderers, the state police and CBI are still groping in the dark. 

Contrast that with the virtually unchallenged reign of the peddlers of spirituality and their vice-like grip on the minds of their followers. It’s as if the efforts at unmasking some of the movers and shakers in this murky world have had little impact on the gullible and the vulnerable. 

The government’s failure is compounded by its inability to offer security cover to activists and whistle-blowers, facing threats from powerful lobbies in businesses as diverse as real estate and spurious liquor. It’s also a telling comment on the police’s laxity. Law-enforcers too stand to benefit from the criminal-politician nexus. Dabholkar and Pansare’s killers are roaming free because their arrests will open a can of worms. Hence, the worst suspicion: Even with increased manpower, the CBI is unlikely to crack the cases.