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Katara case: Defence challenges 'last-seen evidence'

September 17, 2007 21:39 IST

The defence in Nitish Katara murder case on Monday produced a police official in a court in New Delhi to falsify the presence of Ajay Katara, a key prosecution witness at the spot where he claimed to have seen the victim with the accused persons before the incident.

Satyaveer Singh, a company commandant from Provincial Armed Constabulary, was produced before Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Kaur to negate Ajay's credibility as a witness, whose 'last-seen evidence' supports the prosecution's story.

Ajay during his testimony had claimed to be present near Hapur Chungi on the intervening night of February 16-17, 2002, when Katara was taken in a car by accused Vikas, Vishal and their henchman Sukhdev Pehlwan, and was later murdered.

He told the court that he had gone there to visit a family friend, a PAC constable, in his office in the PAC building and saw the accused with Katara while coming back.      

Ajay had also said that there were many entry points to the PAC building, including the spots where the walls had crumbled, and refuted the defence contention that he had not gone there since his name was not in the entry register, maintained at the PAC complex's gate.

Seeking to rebut his testimony, Singh told the court on Monday that the PAC building had only one entry and he had not seen any gaps in the boundary wall or any repair work being carried out there.

"It is wrong that there was free entry of men and even animals in the PAC complex," he said in his response to a question by the prosecution counsel.

Singh, however, expressed ignorance about the entry register, saying his duty was to keep watch on security guards and he was never posted at the gate.
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