Narendra Dabholkar murder case: Bombay High Court tells CBI to appoint special prosecutor soon

The Bombay High Court, on Friday, asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the murder case of Dr Narendra Dabholkar to take steps to ensure the appointment of special prosecutors and presence of Investigation officers in the court at Pune, during the trial.

A division bench of Justice S C Dharmadhikari and Justice Bharati Dangre have asked the CBI to place on record notifications pertaining to the appointment of prosecutors and names of the officers in the investigations team.

The direction was given after advocate Abhay Nevagi appearing for the family members of the deceased told the court that the three accused were granted bail by the Pune court, and on Thursday, there was no one to represent the agency in the trial court. The bench said, "Let the agency not have an impression that it has lost interest in the investigations and the confidence of the family members and the general public is maintained."

During the hearing of a bunch of petitions seeking court-monitored probe in the murder case of Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, the bench also appealed for the agencies to coordinate properly among themselves. The bench also asked the SIT, probing the Pansare case to complete the probe and file its chargesheet in the case within the stipulated time. Senior Advocate Ashok Mundargi appearing for the agency said: "Probe is going on and a final report with be filed before the appropriate court within 90 days."

CBI also informed the court that it is collecting evidence against few persons who could be involved in the conspiracy to kill Dabholkar and only after it has evidence would it move ahead in arresting them.