New Delhi: The Supreme Court has told the Central Bureau of Investigation to look into whether there was an overarching conspiracy in the killings of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, activist Govind Pansare, writer M.M. Kalburgi and journalist Gauri Lankesh.A division bench of the Supreme Court, of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia, is hearing a plea filed by Dabholkar’s daughter, Mukta, challenging the Bombay high court’s refusal to continue monitoring his murder case.LiveLaw has reported that the bench told Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the CBI, that the CBI could examine the issue of a larger conspiracy on the basis of additional documents filed by Dabholkar’s daughter.Senior Advocate Anand Grover, appearing for her, said that the CBI investigation was not completed when the Bombay high court passed its order. “Even perfunctory evidence indicated that the murders of Govind Pansare, Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, Professor MM Kalburgi, and Gauri Lankesh are interconnected,” Grover said, according to LiveLaw.When Justice Dhulia asked what was wrong with the high court’s observation that it will not monitor the case in which trial was ongoing and several witnesses had been examined, Grover said that the absconding accused had not been arrested yet – despite which a trial was afoot.When asked about the “larger conspiracy” angle, the ASG said that among the five accused sufficient evidence is not there against three, and the other two are not connected. Another five accused are undergoing trial, she said.The bench asked for clarity from the CBI on whether the accused who are on trial have no common thread between them.In 2021, a special Pune court framed charges against Virendra Sinh Tawde, who is considered to be the alleged mastermind of Dabholkar’s murder in 2013.It charged him and three others were charged with murder, conspiracy and terror-related offences under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. The fifth accused, advocate Sanjeev Punalekar was charged with destruction of evidence, according to LiveLaw.