The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Hostile `run' continues

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 23, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Hostile `run' continues

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, DEC. 22. Two more witnesses - Y. Srinivasa Rao and Y. Satyam - turned hostile in the Balakrishna case at a local court on Wednesday.

Residents of Navnirmannagar in Jubilee Hills, the two witnesses told the court that they did not know anything about the contents of the panchnama and signed on blank papers as directed by the police.

They maintained that they were called to the police station a day after the shooting incident and were asked by the police to sign on some papers. Asked whether they could recognise the actor's car driver, S. Kanakaiah, who was standing in the court, the duo said they never saw him.

Rajneesh Reddy, doctor of Apollo Hospital, said astrologer, Satyanarayana Choudhary, and film producer, B. Suresh, were brought to the hospital with serious bullet injuries on June 3 night. Another doctor, C. Srinivas Reddy, also deposed.

During cross-examination by the defence counsel, the doctor told the court that though hospital doctors had certified Choudhary and Suresh were conscious while their statements were recorded by the Magistrate.

However, Choudhary and Suresh subsequently stated that they were not conscious while making the statements before the Magistrate, the doctor said.

A photographer of Banjara Photo Studio, Asgar Ali, another witness, told the court that he had taken photographs of the scene of offence as directed by the police.

CLUES officer's version

The Scientific Officer of CLUES team, Chetan Kumar Bandari, said he had examined the scene of offence after being called by the then incharge Jubilee Hills Inspector, M. Stalin, on June 3 night.

He told the court that he had collected cotton swabs on the two palms of the accused actor at Care Hospital.

The same were preserved and handed over to the Inspector to be sent to forensic laboratory for analysis.

During cross-examination by the defence counsel, the officer made it clear that there need not be a direction directly from the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of Detective Department (to which CLUES team was attached) to examine a scene offence.

Replying to a question, Mr. Chetan said that he would visit a scene even if asked by an Inspector.

He told the court that he had scientifically lifted various material objects from the scene and he was qualified to do the job.

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