Pune: The supplementary charge sheet filed by CBI in the Dabholkar case has mentioned that in a statement given to Karnataka SIT, Sharad Kalaskar had revealed that in June 2018, he had visited advocate Sanjeev Punalekar’s chamber located in Fort area in Mumbai where Vikram Bhave, Punalekar’s assistant, was also present.
Kalaskar told Punalekar about his role in the murder of Dabholkar. According to Sharad Kalaskar’s statement, Punalekar asked Kalaskar to destroy the firearms used in the murder including the one used in the murder of Gauri Lankesh.
On July 23, 2018, Kalaskar dismantled four country made pistols (took out barrels and sliders containing firing pins) and threw them from a bridge on Khadi (Thane creek) while they were on their way to Vaibhav Raut’s Nalasopara residence while returning from Pune in Raut’s vehicle.
The involvement of Vikram Bhave is mentioned in page no. 3 and 4 of the statement recorded in Hindi.
The CBI received certified copies of statements of Sharad Kalaskar under section 19 of KCOCA by SIT, Bengaluru, during the investigation of Gauri Lankesh’s murder case.
According to family members of Dabholkar, this statement also establishes his involvement in the murder of Dr Dabholkar.
As per the statements recorded by SIT, Bengaluru, which has become part of the charge sheet in the Dr Dabholkar murder case as well as Comrade Govind Pansare murder case, similar reference is there in the supplementary charge sheet.
The statement reads, “In August 2013, Sachin called me up and asked me to come to Aurangabad. We came to Pune thereafter. We reached a theatre near Pune bus stand and according to Kalaskar, there they met Sanatan Sanstha member Dr Vinod Tawde. ‘Madamji’ was their code word. He said that there was another person named Vikram Bhave, who was assistant of Punalekar. Bhave asked Kalaskar and Sachin Andure to carry out a recce of the place and told us where to find a motorcycle and also informed us about the location of Dabholkar’s residence, Omkareshwar bridge and after the killing which road to choose and where to leave the motorcycle and weapon.”