The prime accused in the Soumya Vishwanathan murder case, Ravi Kapoor, on Thursday caused a stir in a Delhi court when he took out a knife from his pocket and claimed that the policemen gave it to him to attack undertrials in the high-security Tihar Jail.
After hearing the allegations from Kapoor, Patiala House Court metropolitan magistrate Veena Rani, said, “Tihar Jail superintendent (high risk cell) is hereby directed to file an explanation to the allegations of the accused by June 4 before the court.”
Kapoor took the judge, lawyers and others in the court by surprise when he allegedly took out a knife from his pocket saying that it was provided to him by police officials to attack other undertrials in lock-up at Patiala House courts complex. Taking a note of the claim, the court ordered seizure of the knife and asked the escorting policemen and the lock-up in charge to file a written response during the day.
The magistrate, who was hearing the matter in the absence of the regular judge, recorded the statements of the policemen and the lock-up in charge for consideration.
The content of the replies was, however, not known. It would by considered on June 4, the next date of hearing, by the judge who is conducting the trial in the case. The court, meanwhile, directed the Tihar jail superintendent to ensure that the accused is not harassed and assaulted inside the prison.
Kapoor, facing prosecution in several criminal cases, including the murder cases of Vishwanathan and IT executive Jigisha Ghosh, was on Thursday produced in the court in connection with a matter lodged for his failed attempt to flee from the custody from a hospital.
A sessions court had earlier framed charges against five persons, including Kapoor, for their alleged roles in the murder of Soumya.