Nearly a month after the Bombay high court transferred to CBI the probe into the murder of anti-superstition activist Narendra Dabohalkar in Pune last year, the central agency today registered an FIR against unknown persons.        

"We have registered an FIR in the Dabholkar murder case under section 120b (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder) against unknown persons," a CBI spokesperson said.        

The case was registered on transfer from Pune police as per the High Court order. The Bombay High Court had transferred the probe to CBI on May 9 on a PIL filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar on the plea that there was no headway several months after the killing of the eminent rationalist.         Dabholkar was shot dead by unknown assailants in Pune on August 20, 2013.        

The CBI was initially reluctant to take up the case with its counsel contending that no allegations had been levelled against the state or its police of conducting shoddy investigation.