Gaya, May 17: The ongoing trial of Rashtriya Janata Dal strongman and former minister Surendra Prasad Yadav took an interesting turn today with the complainant, Jai Kumar Palit, deposing that the accused persons were not involved in the attack on his house in November 1991.
Deposing in the court of first class judicial magistrate R.R. Mishra, Palit said he was not present in the house when the incident occurred. He also did not confirm the incident of firing as alleged in the FIR lodged by him.
Defence lawyer Syed Qaiser Sharfuddin filed a petition in the court, seeking the transfer of the case to Lok Adalat for speedy disposal, as the two parties have already entered into a “compromise”. The order on the petition has been reserved and the case listed for May 26.
When asked about the FIR, Palit said though the signature on the complaint was genuine, he was under “acute mental stress” at the time of making the statement before police and as such he did not recall the sequence of events or the people involved in the incident.
Asked whether he recognised the persons present in the dock, including Surendra Prasad, Palit said though he knew them as residents of the town, they were not involved in the attack on his house.
The court asked him about his political affiliation, to which Palit replied that he was still a member of the Congress.
Constable Binod Singh, Palit’s bodyguard at the time of the house attack, did not support the prosecution charge against Surendra Prasad and said he was not present when the incident took place.
Jamuna Prasad, the first investigation officer of the case, said he did not find any sign of violence when he visited the GB Road residence of Palit. Shah Jahan Khan, the second investigating officer, told the court that he submitted a chargesheet against Bacchu Yadav and Bindi Yadav and subsequently the case was handed over to the CID for further investigation.
According to legal experts, Palit’s ‘volte face’ has come as a major relief for Surendra Yadav, whose fate, to a large extent, depended on the Congress politician’s deposition in the court.
