Puducherry: One more prosecution witness on Monday
turned hostile during the trial of Sankararaman murder case,
in which Kanchi Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi is the
prime accused.
So far 187 witnesses have been examined since the
commencement of the trial here about two years ago and of them
81 have turned hostile.
When the case came up before Principal District and
Sessions Judge K Ramswamy, Special Public Prosecutor N
Devadoss examined the witness and declared him hostile after
he contradicted his earlier statements.
Sankararaman the manager in the Varadarajaperumal temple in
Kancheepuram was allegedly murdered on the premises of the
temple on September 3, 2004.
The Sankaracharya and his junior Vijayendra Saraswathi have
been charged under sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy) and
302 (murder) of IPC.
Of the 24 accused, only four were present during the
hearing today and the absentees included the two seers.
The Judge adjourned further hearing in the case to June 6.
The case was shifted to Puducherry by the Supreme Court on
a petition by the Sankaracharya in 2005.
PTI
First Published: Monday, April 18, 2011, 22:24