‘Inmates did not attack accused’

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Sidharth Bhatia [1]

An accused in the December 16 gangrape-murder case, who had alleged that inmates had thrashed him and fractured his right elbow, on Saturday claimed before the fast-track court that he is being threatened by security personnel who also assaulted him and told him that he would be hanged in the jail, an allegation denied by jail authorities.

Appearing before additional sessions judge Yogesh Khanna, accused Vinay Sharma’s counsel, A.P. Singh said that his client does not want to go back to Tihar and pleaded that he be shifted to some other jail. “If you want to kill me, kill me here but don’t send me to Tihar in any condition,” Sharma said in the court.
Singh quoted Sharma as saying, “Wahaan (Tihar) pe bolte hain ki ek din media bacha lega, ek din court bacha lega, lekin tujhe aana to yahin hai, hum tujhe yahin taang denge. (They say in Tihar that media and lawyers may save you, but we will hang you here).”
Meanwhile, superintendent of Jail No. 7, Lokesh Chandra appeared before the court as it had directed him to file a report on allegations by Sharma that he fractured his right elbow due to beatings by inmates. Chandra refuted the allegation that the accused was attacked in jail and claimed he was injured during a fight with co-accused Akshay Singh in the van while returning to the prison from court.
The jail authorities said in report that Vinay and five other undertrials lodged in a cell are kept under 24-hour CCTV surveillance and it was not possible for inmates to hurt him. The report also said that Vinay made contradictory statements in varios hospitals regarding his medical status and this proves that allegations made by him are "false and mischievous".
“In the light of contradictory statements of the prisoner (Vinay) in various hospitals, the allegations levelled in the application are totally false, mischievous, unfounded and for ulterior motive,” it said.
Singh also alleged that Vinay and Akshay were not provided food on Saturday as Vinay refused to write a letter to the judge saying that he got injured in a fall.
The superintendent also dismissed the allegations that the security personnel had assaulted Vinay or threatened to kill him. Taking note of the report, the court kept its order pending for Monday and asked Chandra to ensure the safety and security of the four accused in jail.
Meanwhile, accused Pawan Gupta said that he should not be shifted from Tihar.
The court also recorded the statement of a prosecution witness, a Delhi police official who had arrested Mukesh and had seized his clothes.
Mukesh’s counsel cross-examined the witness and claimed that the police had planted false witnesses in the case as it has not made any members of the general public a witness.