Sohrabuddin case: 2 more witnesses turn hostile, taking count to 44

Mumbai: After a brief gap, the trial in the staged encounter case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife Kausar Bi and aide Tulsiram Prajapati resumed on Monday. Two more prosecution witnesses turned hostile and retracted from their earlier statements while one witness was seen sticking to his statements made before the CBI.

With two more witnesses retracting from their earlier testimony, the total number of hostile witnesses has become 44, out of the total 62 ones who deposed on behalf of the prosecution, till date.

The witnesses had deposed before a special CBI court presided over by special judge Sunil Sharma.

The duo who turned hostile were panch witnesses who prepared the panchnama of the recovery of cartridges from the crime scene. In their initial statements before the prosecuting agency, the duo had claimed that they were present at the spot where the panchnama was recorded, however, after stepping into the witness box they failed to recall anything. They even retracted from their initial statements.

Also read: Sohrabuddin case: Trial resumes after break, 2 more witnesses turn hostile

Apart from these, the third witness, who deposed was an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from Hyderabad, who supported the case of the prosecution.

According to the prosecution, this IPS officer was the one who had facilitated the stay of accused Rajkumar Pandiyan and other accused in a police maze. The CBI claimed this IPS officer was the one who had made arrangements for the stay of some accused at the time when they had visited Hyderabad for allegedly arranging a vehicle to kidnap Sohrabuddin and his wife.

In his deposition before special court, the IPS officer was seen sticking to his initial statements before the CBI and did not retracted from his earlier statements.