Lawyer Sanjeev Punalekar has been granted bail by a sessions court in Pune on Friday, 5 July. Punalekar was granted bail in the August 2013 murder of rationalist and activist Narendra Dabholkar, for which the accused was taken into custody on 25 May.
While Punalekar has been accused of the overall conspiracy to murder Dabholkar, the CBI also accused him of advising Sharad Kalaskar, one of the alleged shooters, on how to get rid of the murder weapon.
The CBI suspect that Kalaskar, an accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case as well, disposed of the weapon on Punalekar’s advice.
Although out on bail, the court has stopped Kalaskar from flying abroad and ordered him to be present in front of the CBI every Monday and Tuesday for the inquiry.
His advocate said he will be released after the completion of all bail formalities.
The Backdrop
On 20 June, the court had granted CBI custody of Punalekar till 23 June as he had to be interrogated about certain documents in his laptop, according to Scroll.
“It includes an incriminating letter from Punalekar mentioning the court proceedings of Nalasopara explosives [seizure] case, passing some observations about the judge. The same letter also mentions one “Sadhguru”.Prakash Suryawanshi, Special Public Prosecutor
The CBI also mentioned a letter dated 17 September 2012, written by Punalekar to Dabholkar, that proves the accused’s hatred for the activist.
CBI later told the court that they do not need Punalekar in custody anymore and he was sent back to judicial remand.
Who Is Sanjeev Punalekar?
Punalekar is a lawyer from the group Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad and has represented several Sanatan Sanstha members and other Hindu activists accused in many other cases. He has also represented some of the accused in the Dabholkar murder case.
(With Inputs from The Indian Express and The Scroll)
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