<p class="title">The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the CBI to find out if there was a "common thread" in the murder cases of Communist leader Govind Pansare and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Maharashtra, and Kannada writer M M Kalburgi and journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh in Karnataka.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"If there is a common thread or some common link, it would be in fitness of things, that one investigating agency probes all these cases," a bench of Justices U U Lalit and Navin Sinha said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The court further said, there appears to be four deaths. There are two school of thoughts. One is – these four cases are completely unconnected, if so, then the state police can go on investigating the matters.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The top court also took into record as assertion by Karnataka's Additional Advocate General Devadatt Kamath and a status report indicating there is some link between the murder cases of Kalburgi (on August 30, 2015) and Gauri Lankesh (on September 5, 2017).</p>.<p class="bodytext">Maharashtra state counsel Nishant R Katneshwarkar submitted that two petitions were filed in the Bombay High Court with regard to killing of Dabholkar (on August 20, 2013) and Pansare (on February 20, 2015).</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The CBI is handling Dabholkar case on a direction by the high court, after it was found the state police filed a fake ballistic report and arrested two persons" the top court was informed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It was also stated that a Maharashtra SIT was investigating the Pansare case.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Both Dabholkar and Pansare's cases are monitored by the high court," it was stated.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In Dabholkar's case, the CBI had already filed a charge sheet in a Pune court. In case of Pansare, five people have been arrested and the matter was pending before a court in Kolhapur.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After a brief hearing, the court asked the CBI counsel to take an instruction if there is a common link, and respond. It posted the matter, arising out of a petition filed by Uma Devi Kalburgi, for consideration in the first week of January, 2019.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Umadevi, in her plea, drew parallels between Kalburgi's murder and the killings of Dabholkar and Comrade Pansare in Maharashtra and sought an SIT probe by a retired SC judge or a high court judge. She urged the top court to monitor the probe till it reached its logical conclusion.</p>
<p class="title">The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the CBI to find out if there was a "common thread" in the murder cases of Communist leader Govind Pansare and rationalist Narendra Dabholkar in Maharashtra, and Kannada writer M M Kalburgi and journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh in Karnataka.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"If there is a common thread or some common link, it would be in fitness of things, that one investigating agency probes all these cases," a bench of Justices U U Lalit and Navin Sinha said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The court further said, there appears to be four deaths. There are two school of thoughts. One is – these four cases are completely unconnected, if so, then the state police can go on investigating the matters.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The top court also took into record as assertion by Karnataka's Additional Advocate General Devadatt Kamath and a status report indicating there is some link between the murder cases of Kalburgi (on August 30, 2015) and Gauri Lankesh (on September 5, 2017).</p>.<p class="bodytext">Maharashtra state counsel Nishant R Katneshwarkar submitted that two petitions were filed in the Bombay High Court with regard to killing of Dabholkar (on August 20, 2013) and Pansare (on February 20, 2015).</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The CBI is handling Dabholkar case on a direction by the high court, after it was found the state police filed a fake ballistic report and arrested two persons" the top court was informed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It was also stated that a Maharashtra SIT was investigating the Pansare case.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Both Dabholkar and Pansare's cases are monitored by the high court," it was stated.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In Dabholkar's case, the CBI had already filed a charge sheet in a Pune court. In case of Pansare, five people have been arrested and the matter was pending before a court in Kolhapur.</p>.<p class="bodytext">After a brief hearing, the court asked the CBI counsel to take an instruction if there is a common link, and respond. It posted the matter, arising out of a petition filed by Uma Devi Kalburgi, for consideration in the first week of January, 2019.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Umadevi, in her plea, drew parallels between Kalburgi's murder and the killings of Dabholkar and Comrade Pansare in Maharashtra and sought an SIT probe by a retired SC judge or a high court judge. She urged the top court to monitor the probe till it reached its logical conclusion.</p>
