The Hindu : New Delhi News : Recording of evidence over in Katara case

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Friday, Sep 21, 2007
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New Delhi

Recording of evidence over in Katara case

Staff Reporter

Final arguments in the murder case in Oct.

NEW DELHI: With the deadline set by the Delhi High Court expiring, the recording of defence evidence in the Nitish Katara murder case ended on Thursday.

Refusing to grant any further extension to the defence, Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur fixed October 6, 8, 9 and 10 as the dates for final arguments in the case.

Earlier, the High Court had directed prime accused Vikas Yadav to complete the defence evidence by September 20. On Thursday, the defence counsel told the court about an application filed in the High Court seeking more time for recording of defence evidence. However, the Judge decided to go by the deadline set earlier by the High Court as the fresh application was still pending.

The only witness to be produced before the court on Thursday was a record keeper of the Ghaziabad court, Sunil Kumar Sharma. Sharma had brought with him documents pertaining to a case filed against a key witness in the case, Ajay Katara, by his estranged wife Tanu Chowdhary. However, on Wednesday, the defence had claimed that it would produce five witnesses, including Tanu, on the last date of defence evidence.

Recording of the defence witnesses had begun on July 3. Some of the witnesses included a senior official of the Provincial Armed Constabulary of the Uttar Pradesh police who sought to establish that Ajay was not at the spot where he had claimed to have seen victim Nitish in the company of the three main accused Vikas, Vishal Yadav and Pehalwan after abduction on the night of February 16, 2002.

Another witness, an Allahabad-based lawyer who had claimed to be legal consultant of the accused for the past 18 years, had alleged that the investigating officer in the case, Anil Samania, had carried out a faulty probe.

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