Tulsiram Prajapati was allegedly killed by police officers at Chapri village in the Banaskantha district of Gujarat in December 2006.
A KEY prosecution witness pertaining to the Tulsiram Prajapati alleged fake encounter case, who had earlier sought protection from court, did not appear before it on Tuesday for his deposition. Special Public Prosecutor B P Raju informed the court that while the witness was told to remain present and summons were received by him, he had neither arrived nor was on available on the phone.
In February, the witness, a resident of Udaipur in Rajasthan, had written to the special CBI court seeking protection while expressing apprehension regarding his safety. The court had directed the CBI superintendent to make arrangements for his protection.
On Tuesday, however, the prosecutor and the investigating official told the court that they have been continuously trying to call the witness but to no avail. Special Judge S J Sharma asked why they had not communicated with the witness one or two days before his deposition to see if police escort has been arranged.
CBI officials had served summons to the witness on March 9, directing him to appear before the court on April 10. Thereafter, they had not communicated with them. The court was informed that after its direction in February, the CBI had got in touch with the superintendent of Udaipur to seek police escort to bring the witness to court. “The witness was informed that he should inform the police escorts when he is coming to Mumbai for his deposition. We do not know if he has got in touch with the local police there,” a CBI official said.