Concerned about the lack of progress in the investigations into the murder of senior CPI activist Govind Pansare, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday demanded to know from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the State CID as to what steps it had taken to trace and arrest alleged Sanatan Sanstha activist prime accused in the sensational crime Rudra Patil.
After going through the report submitted by the SIT into the investigations into the Govind Pansare murder case, a HC bench of the Justices Ranjit More and Rajesh Ketkar noted: “The SIT’s report is silent on what steps it has taken to arrest Rudra Patil”.
Rudra Patil is also an accused in the 2009 Goa blasts case. Hearing petitions filed by the family members of renowned rationalist Narendra Dabholkar and Panse seeking the court-monitored investigations into the murders of the two leaders, the HC bench directed the SIT to submit its report on the steps taken by it to arrest Rudra Patil, by October 20. The HC bench passed directive to the SIT, after it was informed that Samir Gaikwad of Sanatan Sanstha, who was arrested recently in the Govind Pansare murder case, was close to Rudra Patil. Arrested by the police from Sangli in western Maharashtra on September 16, Gaikwad is currently in judicial custody at Kolhapur.
The HC bench also directed CBI, which is investigating the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, to submit its investigation report by October 20.
While hearing the two petitions, the HC bench upbraided the Maharashtra Government for its failure to appoint
special public prosecutors in the two cases. “It is really sorry state of affairs that in such
sensitive cases special public prosecutors are not appointed,” the judges observed.