Mumbai/Pune: The Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) told the sessions court on Friday that Avinash Pawar, the fifth accused in the Nallasopara arms haul case, is suspected to be a right-wing activist, and has carried out reconnaissance of several people, including Mukta Dabholkar, daughter of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, Shyam Manav, a social activist, and Nationalist Congress Party MLA Jitendra Avhad.
Mr. Pawar (30) is alleged to have been involved in planning the attacks on these people and had full knowledge of the plot and the movement of the arsenal. Mr. Pawar, a resident of Bhatwadi in Ghatkopar (West), was arrested on August 24. He worked as a loader at the Mazgaon dock, and his family members said he was also the president of an organisation named Swarajya Yuva Prathistha.
Judge Vinay Padalkar remanded Mr. Pawar (30) in the custody of the ATS till September 4.
The agency sought his custody for 14 days stating that they have to interrogate him to ascertain the role of others in the crime. The court said there are several loose ends in the ATS case, and said the agency had not submitted the details of the investigation in the remand application or the case diary.
On August 29, the court had sent the other accused — Vaibhav Raut, Sharad Kalaskar and Sudhanwa Gondhalekar — to ATS custody till September 3, and said the group was involved in bombing at Bhanusagar talkies and Prakash talkies in Belgaum where Padmavat was released.
According to the agency, Mr. Kalaskar conspired to hurl bombs at a Western musical concert (Sunburn) in Pune and conducted a recce of the spot along with the other accused. Sunburn was targeted because it was against Hindu culture.
Crime scene
A CBI team on Friday took Sachin Andure, the alleged main shooter in the Dabholkar murder case, to the crime spot in Pune. According to a police officer, Mr. Andure was taken to Omkareshwar Bridge, where Dabholkar was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne assailants on August 20, 2013, while he was on a morning walk. Based on information provided by Mr. Andure, who is in his late 20s, the CBI team recreated the entire crime scene.
( With PTI inputs )
