Pune, Oct 29 (PTI) The trial of the rationalist Narendra Dabholkar murder case began here on Friday with the examination and cross-examination of a witness.

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Avinash Davalbhakta (54), who lived in a building in Shaniwar Peth area at the time of Dabholkar's murder, testified before the court.

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Dr Dabholkar, a renowned anti-superstition activist, used to stay in a flat of Sadhana Trust in the same building sometimes.

The day after he was shot dead by two people on the nearby Omkareshwar bridge, police had conducted a 'panchnama' (inspection) of the flat.

Davalbhakta was one of the two 'panchas' (witnesses) during the inspection.

Dabholkar was shot dead while on a morning walk on August 20, 2013.

All five accused -- Virendra Sinh Tawde, Sharad Kalaskar, Sachin Andure, Sanjeev Punalekar and Vikram Bhave -- were present in the court as the trial began before additional sessions judge S R Navandar.

CBI lawyer and special public prosecutor Prakash Suryawanshi examined Davalbhakta.

Davalbhakta confirmed that Dabholkar used to stay in the flat twice a week.

"A bag (belonging to Dabholkar) was opened in front of me and some newspaper articles (cuttings), a diary and some documents were found," he told the court.

Davalbhakta was later cross-examined by defence lawyer Prakash Salsingikar.

A diary and a press accreditation card issued by the Maharashtra government to Dabholkar (who edited a weekly of the Sadhana Trust) and which had been seized during the inspection were produced in the court.

The court also asked the prosecution to give a copy of the CD of post-mortem procedure to the defence.

The prosecution said the Mumbai Forensic Science Laboratory did not have the facility to make a copy of the CD, and it will have to be done at the central FSL in Delhi.

Advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, a defence lawyer, said the prosecution should have provided a copy of the CD to the defence much earlier.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)