The defence team in the Rajnis Patel death case was jubilant on Friday, after the second day?s grilling of Girish Patel, uncle of the budding cricketer who died at SSKM Hospital after five botched surgeries on his left shinbone.

In response to a query by counsel Dipit Basu, representing accused Dilip Kumar Majumdar, Girish said Rajnis?s cricket gear had been bought by his father Manoj. ?I chipped in at times.?

After the hearing at the Alipore sub-divisional judicial magistrate?s court, Basu claimed Girish?s deposition had punched holes in the Patels? contention that they are poor. ?If they could purchase all the equipment Rajnis needed, they had to be well-off.?

Manoj, however, countered the claim, saying: ?I did buy a few things for Rajnis, but the rest were provided by his club. I and my wife have stated this in our testimony.?

During the cross-examination, Girish said he had not gone home directly after taking custody of Rajnis?s body on June 2, 2003. He admitted that he had not considered shifting his nephew to another hospital with similar facilities. He did not even consult any other doctor, even after he suspected that Rajnis was not getting proper care at SSKM Hospital.

Answering counsel Tapan Choudhury?s query, Girish said he had mentioned accused Nirmalya Basu?s name when police first recorded his statement on June 19, 2003.

In response to another query, he said he was not aware about the police outpost on the hospital premises.

Next came the turn of Chandi Bagchi, representing accused Jayanta Mondol. His questions hinted that the Patels had not shifted Rajnis to another hospital, even after they feared that the treatment was going wrong, because they were convinced that the doctors were doing all they could.

?We are poor and could not have afforded better facilities. So, we opted for a free bed at the hospital,? Girish said.

?Did you know that there are other city hospitals with free beds?? Bagchi asked. ?No, I did not,? Girish replied.

The next hearing is scheduled for Monday.