File photo Sohrabuddin Shaikh and his wife
Two more witnesses were declared hostile in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh alleged fake encounter case on Monday. The two, both panch witnesses, denied parts of their earlier statements recorded in 2005 made in relation to the seizures made after Sohrabuddin’s alleged encounter. So far, 53 witnesses have been examined, of whom 35 have been declared hostile.
On Monday, both the witnesses told the court that they were returning from a visit to Gayatri Mandir in Ahmedabad on November 26, 2005, when they were stopped by the police. The two, in their separate depositions, told the same story about how they were told by the policemen that a death had taken place and asked them if they could act as panch witnesses on a panchnama.
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After the two agreed, they were taken to an office. The two told the court that they were shown a chain and a railway ticket and their signatures were taken on the panchnama. In their earlier statements, the two had told the investigators that the police had seized not two, but eight articles, including 92 notes of Rs 500, two visiting cards, seven live catridges, a driving licence and a Nokia mobile phone. While one of the witnesses said he had only been shown two articles, the other said that he did not recollect if any other articles were shown.
Special Public Prosecutor sought for them to be declared hostile and put them through a similar cross-examination. During the cross-examination as well, while one of the witnesses told the court that he could identify the ticket if shown to him, the other said that he could not confidently say if it was the same ticket. The two also denied being told that the articles were found in Sohrabuddin’s possession after the alleged encounter.
Further, the prosecution examined a third witness relating to the seizure of a motorcycle, revolver, catridges and a motorcycle from encounter spot. The witness identified the seizures. The court will continue to examine witnesses on Tuesday.
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