A day after depositions by three local residents in the Rick Nath murder case, yet another witness from Sadhan Hari Mukherjee Road recorded his statement in Alipore court on Wednesday afternoon.

The man narrated how he had last seen five-year-old Rick enter the residence of Bela Bose on Thursday morning.

This is the first time in recent years that witnesses in a murder case are so forthcoming in getting their statements recorded before a magistrate.

'We are working on some vital leads. The statements of the witnesses, we believe, would further strengthen our case in the court of law,' said S.N. Gupta, superintendent of police, South 24-Parganas.

Sources claimed the witness was escorted to the court on Wednesday afternoon by a team of officers from the Behala police station. The deposition took place inside a closed room, under section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code.

The magistrate first explained to the man that he was in no way bound to record his statement, and if he did, it could be used as evidence in the case. Then, the recording started.

The man has reportedly claimed to have seen Rick cross James Long Sarani to his grandmother's house, opposite his Sadhan Hari Mukherjee Road residence, around 10.30 am on last Thursday. After sometime, Rick's 65-year-old grandmother had accompanied him out of the house. She was speaking to her daughter when Rick ran into the Bose home.

The witness even stressed that Bela was alone in her 8C, Sadhan Hari Mukherjee Road residence at that time since her husband, Rabindra Nath, and son, Kaushik, had stepped out for work.

Almost 14 hours later, Rick's body was fished out from a septic pit on the premises of the Bose residence.

Cops claimed the statements would reach them in few days in a sealed envelope. 'As the case hinged primarily on circumstantial evidence, the depositions by the witnesses and the post-mortem report are very vital,' claimed a senior officer of Behala police station.

Sleuths also visited Rabindra Nath and Kaushik at MR Bangur Hospital and inquired the doctors about their health condition.

Doctors said both needed some time to recover in the hospital.