Sarang Akolkar, one of the alleged conspirators of the 2009 Madgaon bomb blast and now a possible suspect in the murder of rationalist Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, was in touch with his family members until recently, according to sources in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He has been absconding for the past seven years.
The family lives in the Goa and Panvel ashrams of Sanatan Sanstha, a right-wing Hindu organisation of which Akolkar was an active member. Another member Sameer Gaikwad is presently in police custody for allegedly being a part of the murder of veteran Communist leader Govind Pansare in Kolhapur.
On Thursday, the CBI searched the Panvel house of another Sanstha member, Dr Virendra Tawde, and also interrogated him. The CBI, which is investigating the Dabholkar murder case, had on Wednesday raided Akolkar’s house in Pune which was locked. The agency suspects both ‘sadhaks’ were part of Dabholkar’s murder plot. “We haven’t acted in haste. It was only after detailed study and over two years of investigation that we have zeroed down on these names,” said a CBI officer who is part of the investigation. The teams raided the houses with necessary warrants from local courts had informed local police authorities and were accompanied by government officers and witnesses to carry out search.
Papers seizedThe search resulted in seizing of important papers, coded documents and electronic devices from the raided houses. “Some official documents that we have received from Pune indicate that Akolkar was in contact with his family members until recently,” said the officer. His parents, father Dilip and mother Kanchan often stay in the Sanstha’s Goa ashram. His sister and brother-in-law, both sadhaks of the Sanstha, stay in Goa and Panvel ashrams respectively.
