Jan. 12: The Supreme Court has shifted the trial into the murder of Uttrakhand’s “whistleblower” superintending engineer, Radhey Shayam, from a Hardwar court to Delhi after several witnesses had turned hostile under threat from the powerful people exposed by him for corruption in Rs 240-crore Ganga-Yamuna-Link project.
Shayam, who was sent to oversee the project following complaints of widespread corruption, was gunned down in cold blood in broad day light in June 2006, as he had taken tough action against corrupt contractors.
Initially, a special task force was set up by the state government under public and media pressure and eight members of the “Sunil Rathi” gang were arrested. One of the key accused in the case was Akash Tyagi, who even was active from jail, said the top court while coming down heavily on the trial judge and Uttrakhand government for “ignoring” several letters to his son about constant threats held out to his family.
“If such a situation continues, it will pave the way for anarchy, resulting in the breakdown of justice system,” the anguished top court said while pointing out that the trial has to be held in Delhi.