Chopra family murder case
Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 10: In a major jolt to the prosecution, approver in the sensational Chopra family murder case turned hostile and leveled serious allegations of torture against the senior members of the Special Investigation Team (SIT).
In the case, the prosecution has challaned former MLC of National Conference, T S Wazir, his elder brother Ajab Singh, contractor Ch Nagar Singh, Rajinder Singh, Mahesh, Rushi, Vicky, Nanju, Bhawani Singh, Sikander, Narinder, Dalip and Sangram Singh.
The approver Vicky, while recording statement in the Court of Principal Sessions Judge Jammu, at the very outset refused to recognize the accused present in the Court. Upon this, Special Public Prosecutor requested the Court that the witness/approver should be declared hostile and permission should be granted to cross-examine him.
Upon this, Principal Sessions Judge perused the whole file and also the earlier statement of Vicky. He found that Vicky was contradicting his earlier statement and accordingly the Special Public Prosecutor was allowed to cross-examine the witness.
On cross-examination by Special Public Prosecutor, Vicky stated that application for recording his statement as approver had been drafted by police and he had not requested for the same. The Judge had put him some questions and the signatures in English are not of the witness-cum-approver.
The witness further said that whatever he stated in the Court in his statement was on the directions of the police. The approver created a sensation in the Court by stating that he was kept in safe house for 10 months.
On further cross-examination by the counsel for Choudhary Nagar Singh, the witness-cum-approver stated that before occurrence of the present case he never came to Jammu and police had arrested him and brought him to Jammu.
Leveling serious allegations of torture, he said that he was brutally tortured by the police when he was kept in safe house. He told the Court that during period of his arrest he was not produced before any Magistrate and police used to burn his skin with cigarettes. When the body of Vicky was examined on his request, the marks of torture were found visible.
On cross-examination by the defence counsel appearing on behalf of Ajab Singh, the approver said that he was forcibly produced before the Court for making the statement as the police had told him that if Vicky becomes approver-cum witness he will be released.
He told the Court that police officers namely Basant Rath, Mamta Sharma and Mukesh Singh were repeatedly compelling him to make the statement. The witness-cum-approver again reiterated that when he was being taken to the court for recording his statement, he was threatened by the police that in case he did not record his statement as per their requirement than he should be ready to face the music and because of the pressure and threat of the police, the witness-cum-approver made a statement.
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