Lawyer's arrest conspiracy to defame Hindus: Right-wing bodies

Denouncing the arrest of a lawyer representing some of the accused in the rationalist Narendra Dabholkar murder case, right-wing organisations Wednesday alleged that there was a "sinister conspiracy" to defame Hindus.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had Saturday arrested lawyer Sanjeev Punalekar along with Vikram Bhave, a member of the right-wing organisation Sanatan Sanstha.

Representatives of various Hindutva organisations, including the Sanatan Sanstha and the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti, Wednesday held a press conference here to express their solidarity with the arrested accused.

"To arrest advocate Sanjeev Punalekar on the basis of the statement extracted from an accused by physically assaulting him in police custody is an attack on the rights and freedom of advocates. This unjust action was taken only to suppress the voice of Hindutva," said Sunil Ghanwat, organiser of the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti for Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh states.

 

The organisations claimed that Punalekar has "served the Hindu community selflessly for many years" and they are sure that "such a person can never commit any wrong deed".

"The CBI has, in a way, openly challenged Hindutva by arresting Punalekar, who is a strong voice and pillar of Hindutva," they added.

As per the investigating agency, Punalekar is accused of helping in the destruction of evidence in the Dabholkar murder case.

Punalekar, who had represented some of the accused in the same case, had asked one of the alleged shooters to destroy the weapons, while Bhave had helped them in reconnaissance before the crime, the CBI had said.

A court here Sunday remanded Punalekar and Bhave in the CBI custody till June 1.

Bhave, a member of the right wing outfit Sanatan Sanstha, was earlier convicted in the case related to a low- intensity blast at Gadkari Rangyatan auditorium Thane.

Dabholkar, an anti-superstition activist, was shot dead while on morning walk in Pune on August 20, 2013.