The killing of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabholkar was today received with shock and anger by leaders across the political spectrum who expressed grief over the attack on rationalist and progressive ideology.
"The progressive movement of Maharashtra is now bereft of a face, with the killing of Dabholkar," Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said. "Thoughts cannot be crushed by such cowardly attacks," he added.
"The murder of an unarmed, principled thinker is a blot on the progressive image of Maharashtra," NCP State Working President Jitendra Awhad said.
The cowardly attack on Dabholkar is an attack on rationalist thinking, Home Minister R R Patil said. A crime branch probe has been ordered into the killing, he said.
Condemning the murder, Congress leader Ulhas Pawar said the culprits should be nabbed immediately.
Senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde said the killing of Dabholkar is akin to the murder of all good things in society.
"Dabholkar's killing has shown that activists who work fearlessly for social cause, are not safe in the state," he said.
"Dabholkar was working for social awareness through his movement. His work was befitting the progressive ideology of Maharashtra," CPI leader Sukumar Damle said.
"We strongly condemn the cowardly act and demand a speedy probe into the killing," Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi said.
Hailing from Satara, Dabholkar studied medicine from Miraj Medical College and practised medicine for about a decade, before taking up social work.
