Prime accuse in Gauri lankeshmurder case remanded to judicial custody

Pune: Amol Kale, prime accused in the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh, was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by the local court in Pune on Friday. Kale who has been in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the murder of Dr Narendra Dabholkar has been accused of supplying the weapon to Dabholkar’s alleged assailant Sachin Andure.

In September 10, judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) MSA Sayed reprimanded the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials conducting investigations into the arrests of assailants of Narendra Dabholkar on Monday for no progress in the investigations related to accused Rajesh Bangera, Amit Digwekar and Sharad Kalaskar.

The court also rejected CBI custody of Digwekar and Bangera while Kalaskar’s CBI custody was extended up to September 15. The CBI had produced Bangera, Digwekar and Kalaskar in the court amid tight security following the expiry of their custody. The CBI has named Kalaskar as the alleged “shooter” in the case while Digwekar and Bangera, the two suspects earlier arrested in journalist Gauri Lankesh murder, have been accused as co-conspirators” in the Dabholkar case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 18 had arrested Andure from Aurangabad claiming that he was involved in the August 2013 murder of Narendra Dabholkar who fought against superstition and espoused rationalism.