Puducherry: Four more prosecution witnesses
in the Sankararaman murder case, in which Kanchi Sankaracharya
Jayendra Saraswathi and junior acharya Vijayendra Saraswathi
are the prime accused, turned hostile during the trial in a
court Friday.
Four of the five prosecution witnesses examined by
Special Public Prosecutor N Devadoss before Principal and
District Sessions Judge D Krishnaraja contradicted their
earlier statements made to the police.
Of the 24 accused in the case, only 11 were present. The
absentees included the two seers who have been charged under
IPC sections of 120-B (conspiracy) and 302 (murder).
The Judge adjourned the hearings to April 22.
Devadoss later told reporters that 37 more witnesses were
slated to be examined in the next hearing on April 22 and 23.
So far, 72 prosecution witnesses have been examined and
40 have turned hostile.
Sankararaman, Manager of Varadaraja Perumal temple in
Kancheepuram, was murdered in the temple premises on September
3, 2004. The Supreme Court had shifted the trial to Puducherry
in October, 2005 on a petition by Jayendra Saraswathi.
PTI
First Published: Friday, March 26, 2010, 14:36