Three rationalists’ killings: Scotland Yard declines to help CBI

Mumbai, Jan 20 (IANS) The Scotland Yard has declined to help the CBI in forensic probe aspects of the killings of prominent rationalists of Maharashtra Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and Karnataka's M.M. Kalburgi, the Bombay High Court was told on Friday.

This is due to certain legal issues between India and United Kingdom, Additional Solicitor-General of India Anil Singh, representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) told a division bench comprising Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari and Justice B.P. Colabawalla.

"The Scotland Yard has informed in writing that no legal agreement existed between the two countries on sharing of forensic datea Hence it will not help by conducting a forensic probe into these murder cases," Singh said.

He added that since such an agreement could take a long time and considering the legal and practical difficulties, the CBI has decided to drop the matter.

Owing to the similarity in the modus operandi and the three killings, the CBI, Maharashtra and Karnataka police suspected that the same weapon may have been used for which it sought help on aspects of the forensics and ballistics from Scotland Yard.

There were differences in the Forensic Science Laboratory reports in Mumbai and Bengaluru and the CBI wanted a third independent opinion for which it had sought the Scotland Yard's assistance.

The matter came during a hearing of appeals filed by the relatives of Dabholkar and Pansare seeking justice.

The CBI is probing the killing of Dabholkar in Pune, the Pansare murder is being investigated by a Special Investigation Team of Maharashtra Police and the Kalburgi killing is probed by the Karnataka Police.

The CBI submitted its sealed report on the probe progress to the court which has directed it to intensify the investigations and arrest the remaining accused, said Dabholkar's son, Hamid Dabholkar.

While Dabholkar, 69, was shot dead in Pune on August 20, 2013, Pansare, 81, who fired upon on February 16, 2015, succumbed to bullet injuries in Kolhapur after five days (February 20, 2015) and Kalburgi, 77, was shot dead on August 30, 2015 in Dharwad, Karnataka.