The Hindu : New Delhi News : Delhi court allows fresh fingerprints in BMW case

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Sunday, Sep 02, 2007
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New Delhi

Delhi court allows fresh fingerprints in BMW case

Staff Reporter

Court had earlier taken strong exception to the demand

Fresh fingerprints necessary to take the case
to its logical conclusion: Prosecution
The prints would be matched with chance prints lifted from the car

NEW DELHI: A court here on Saturday allowed the prosecution to take fresh fingerprints of the accused in the eight-year-old BMW hit-and-run case. The prints would be matched with chance prints lifted from the car allegedly involved in the accident in which six persons, including three policemen, were killed on January 10, 1999.

Allowing the plea, Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar asked all the five accused – Sanjeev Nanda, Manik Kapoor, Rajeev Gupta, Bholanath and Shyam Singh – to be present before the Metropolitan Magistrate concerned this Monday and allow the investigating officer to take their fingerprints.

The Judge asked the investigating officer to submit the report of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory on September 19. The defence has been asked to file the reply the same day.

On August 28, the court had taken strong exception to the prosecution wanting to take fresh fingerprints of the accused more than eight years after the incident and when the trial was at its fag end.

Appearing for prime accused Sanjeev Nanda, counsel Ramesh Gupta, who had earlier told the court that the prosecution was delaying the trial, said the accused was ready to comply with the court’s order.

He, however, maintained that the exercise would only delay the trial.

Mr. Gupta questioned the police for not replying to the CFSL, which had asked for fresh fingerprints at a much earlier stage.

In its plea, the prosecution had told the court that fresh fingerprints were necessary to take the case to its logical conclusion.

According to the prosecution, Sanjeev Nanda, grandson of former Navy Chief Admiral S. M. Nanda, had mowed down six persons in the early hours of the fateful day on Lodhi Road. Subsequently he and his friends – his co-accused in the case – had tried to destroy evidence in the case.

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