Just days after the number of witnesses in the alleged fake encounters of the Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulasiram Prajapathi turning hostile climbed to 72, another key witness has now claimed that he is facing pressure and even threat to his life.
A key witness, in the alleged fake encounters of Sohrabuddin Shaikh and Tulsiram Prajapati, sent a letter to the court through his wife on Monday, claiming that pressure was being mounted on him from various quarters and there was threat to his life.
The 40-year-old prosecution witness, who along with Sohrabuddin and Prajapati was accused in the Hamid Lala murder case, has sent a letter to the court claiming that he’s been pressurised to not depose before the court.
The witness in question was apparently close to Sohrabuddin. He was also an inmate of Prajapati in Udaipur central jail till his death in an alleged fake encounter in 2006. While he has previously been summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation for being an accused in several cases in Rajasthan, he has so far remained untraceable.
On June 25, the wife of the witness in question appeared before the court to depose as a prosecution witness, following which she handed over a one-page letter apparently written by her husband.
The 36-year-old woman told the court that intensifying pressurise on her husband, the police have allegedly registered five false cases against him. “All these recent cases have only been filed to ensure he does not appear as a witness in this case.” She further said that both police and politicians are mounting pressure against deposing in the case. “He wants to come and depose but his safety should be assured.
As per the court’s schedule, the man is supposed to depose before the court this week.
According to the letter, the man said he knew the truth behind the alleged fake encounters and wished to appear before the count but feared being killed in an encounter or being falsely implicated in a criminal case. Citing these as reasons for choosing to be absent, the man requested the court to allow him to come before it whenever it was possible for him to do so.
Meanwhile, two other witnesses, who are in charge of reservation windows at Ahmedabad railway station, appeared before the court on Monday. They identified the tickets they had issued to four police officers and the prisoner named Tulsiram on December 26, 2006.
