Tawade: From a doctor to a 'sadhak'

PUNE/KOLHAPUR: Rationalist Narendra Dhabholkar's murder accused Virendrasinh Tawade was a practicing doctor who graduated from a top medical college in Mumbai before the attraction to right-wing ideologies landed him into Sanatan Sanstha.
The 48-year-old had given up his eight-year-long practice in Kolhapur to join Sanatan Sanstha as a 'Sadhak' (follower) in 2003.He shifted his base to Panvel, joined the `ashram' of the organization and started taking part in awareness programmes of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti.
Tawade is originally from Devgad in Konkan and grew up in Sangli district. After completing his schooling, he got admitted to Grant Medical College. After completing his MBBS, he specialized in ENT from Sion Hospital.
In 1995, Tawade moved to Kolhapur and started practising. The same year he got married to a paediatric surgeon. The couple lived in an apartment in Navi Mumbai near the `ashram' of the Sanatan Sanstha. His wife works as a medical practitioner while their daughter stu dies in a local school.
A CBI officer said it was during the late 90s when Tawade got attracted towards right wing ideologies and started visiting various `ashrams' “in search of peace“. “Tawade also visited some spiritual gurus but found them bogus. Before joining the Sanstha, he had tried different ideologies of various sects,“ he said.
Though the Kolhapur wing of the Sanatan Santha preferred to remain silent over Tawade's arrest, some activists said he had worked as the district coordinator of the orgainsation for a few years. “He was one of the main persons behind setting up of the Sanatan Santha here,“ a close acquaintance of Tawade told TOI. Police, in the meantime, are investigating if Tawade was in contact with Rudra Patil and Pravin Limkar, the two prime accused in the 2008 Madgaon bomb blast.