Nagpur Nearly three years after they were accused in the murder of college professor H S Sabharwal in Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, six ABVP activists were acquitted on Monday by a court in Nagpur for lack of evidence. “The prosecution has failed to put up evidence to prove its case and hence the court acquits all six accused,” Additional Sessions Judge Nitin Dalvi said in his brief statement today in the court. The case was transferred from Ujjain to Nagpur court vide a Supreme Court order in March 2008 in view of the fear that investigations could be tampered with in Madhya Pradesh, which has a BJP government and all accused reportedly belonged to ABVP, the party’s student wing. The six accused, Shashiranjan Akela, Vimal Tomar, Vishal Rajoria, Hemant Dube, Pankaj Mishra and Sudhir Yadav, were in court when the judgment was delivered. While their hailed the judgement as “justice done since we knew we were innocent”, the late Ujjain professor’s son Himanshu has decided to challenge the judgment in the Supreme Court. “My father died once again today. The verdict is disappointing but not unexpected since the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh successfully managed to sabotage the case,” he said.
“The prosecution agency was never serious about the probe,” he said. “The entire evidence was suppressed and the case was rendered mere eyewash. If the police would have been serious, they could have built an unassailable case.” In all 69 witnesses were presented before the court, but all key witnesses, including three policemen, turned hostile, weakening the prosecution case.
Prosecution lawyer Praful Shandilya told The Indian Express: “The turning hostile of the key witnesses, including the three police eyewitnesses, was a major blow. In fact, the Supreme Court had told the witnesses to fearlessly speak in the Nagpur court. I had sought a fresh probe too which was granted by the court, but the police again failed to do its job well. The witnesses turned hostile here too. Now it remains to be seen how the court has dealt with the video evidence in the form of media CDs that had witnesses saying they had seen the assailants doing the act.” Sabharwal, head of the political science department of Madhav College, Ujjain, died in August, 2009, after violence in the college over student union elections when he was allegedly beaten up by the ABVP activists. Later, he died in a hospital.
Prosecution lawyer Praful Shandilya told The Indian Express: “The turning hostile of the key witnesses, including the three police eyewitnesses, was a major blow. In fact, the Supreme Court had told the witnesses to fearlessly speak in the Nagpur court. I had sought a fresh probe too which was granted by the court, but the police again failed to do its job well. The witnesses turned hostile here too. Now it remains to be seen how the court has dealt with the video evidence in the form of media CDs that had witnesses saying they had seen the assailants doing the act.” Sabharwal, head of the political science department of Madhav College, Ujjain, died in August, 2009, after violence in the college over student union elections when he was allegedly beaten up by the ABVP activists. Later, he died in a hospital.
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