Panaji, May 26 (IANS): Goa-based Hindu right-wing organisation Sanatan Sanstha on Saturday protested the arrest of Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad national Secretary and advocate Sanjiv Punalekar and his assistant Vikram Bhave by the CBI in connection with the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.

In a statement issued here, the Sanstha's national spokesperson Chetan Rajan said that Punalekar had, in fact, exposed the "falsehood of saffron terrorism" in the Malegaon blast case, in which Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur had been arrested.

"It is very serious to arrest Sanjiv Punalekar who proved the falsehood of saffron terrorism behind Malegaon explosion case and filed several Public Interest Litigations. We feel that Punalekar who performs seva of society, the nation and dharma without any expectations is innocent," the statement said.

"To arrest Sanjiv Punalekar and Vikram Bhave, when a pro-Hindutva government is in power smacks of conspiracy behind such an action," Rajan also said.

Dabholkar, who headed the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti, was gunned down near his residence in Pune while on a morning walk on in 2013.

Besides Punalekar and Bhave, the CBI has so far arrested a total of five persons in connection with the murder.

Five years after Dabholkar's killing, the CBI, in August last year, made the first break through arrest of the alleged shooters - Sachin Andure from Aurangabad and Sharad Kalaskar - from Palghar region.