Seven More Witnesses hostile in the Sankararaman Murder case:Kanchi seer is the main accused

Seven more prosecution witnesses in the Sankararaman murder case, in which Kanchi seer Jayendra Saraswathi and his junior Vijayendra Saraswathi are the prime accused, turned hostile during trial on Thursday.

As trial resumed in the Pondichery court of Principal District and Sessions Judge D Krishnaraja, 10 witnesses were examined by Public Prosecutor N Devadass regarding the murder of temple manager Sankararaman in the Varadarajaperumal temple premises at Kancheepuram on September 3, 2004.

The two seers have been charged under sections 120-B (conspiracy) and 302 (murder) of IPC.

So far, 26 witnesses have turned hostile

Only 17 of the 24 accused were present during the trial yesterday. The absentees included the two seers.

Devadoss later told reporters that the seven witnesses were treated as hostile as they contradicted the statements they had given earlier before the Kanchipuram police.

Among those turned hostile today included three women, he said on January 21, key witness and an approvar in the case Ravi Subramanian turned hostile when he was examined by the Special Public Prosecutor.

During the chief examination, Subramanian informed the court that he became an approver under external pressure. He was coerced by the police to turn an approver and give statement favoring the investigation.

Contradicting all the statements made before the lower court and the police about identifying the accused, his connections with a few accused persons and his visits to the Mutt to plan the murder, Subramanian said he neither knew the accused persons nor about the murder plan. He also informed the court that the police did not seize any documents from his custody.

Contradictory statements

Following his contradictory statements, the SPP informed the Judge that he was treating him as a hostile witness. Subsequently, Subramanian was cross-examined by defence counsel K.S Dinakaran and Prakash.

Subramanian deposed that before he was produced in the Kancheepuram Court on December 27, 2004, he was in illegal custody for around 15 days and was harassed by then Superintendent of Police Premkumar and Additional Superintendent of Police Sakthivel.

Maintaining that the harassment caused physical and mental agony, he said his wife and children were also in police custody and harassed.

Stating the truth

Since his wife and children were in the police custody, he, out of fear, gave a statement dictated by the police before the court, Subramanian said, adding that he was now stating the truth because the officers who arrested him were not in service. Subramanian who was first treated as an accused in the case during preliminary investigation by the police later became an approver. He was then treated as witness in the case.

- Asian Tribune -