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NEW DELHI: Bhawna Yadav, daughter of the former Rajya Sabha member, D.P. Yadav, on Thursday failed to appear before a trial court here in the Nitish Katara murder case as a prosecution witness.

Seeking adjournment of the proceedings to a later date, counsel Puneet Mittal submitted before Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur that his client was unable to come to court because her son was ill. Allowing his plea, Ms. Kaur fixed February 8 for recording of evidence.

Other witnesses — investigating officer of the case Anil Samania and some officers of the Kasturba Gandhi Marg branch of the HDFC bank here — will record their evidence on February 1.

The court summoned Ms. Bhawna on Thursday on a request by Vikas Yadav, prime accused in the case. His counsel had urged the court to record the evidence of Ms. Bhawna before January 19 when his bail application would be taken up for hearing.

She was scheduled to record her evidence on February 1.

The prosecution wants to examine Ms. Bhawna to verify whether Bharti, her younger sister and a key prosecution witness in the case, had received calls from Neelam Katara, mother of Nitish Katara, and his friends on her (Ms. Bhawna's) mobile phone on February 16, 2002, when Nitish had gone missing, and the next day.

Ms. Bharti's brother Vikas and cousin Vishal face prosecution in the case. Recording her evidence in the case in November, Ms. Bharti categorically denied that she had used the cell number issued to Ms. Bhawna, or received any call from either Mrs. Neelam or Nitish Katara's friends. The number was issued to her at the residential address of Mr. D.P. Yadav

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