Puducherry: One more prosecution witness
turned hostile during cross examination in a local court on Monday
in the Sankararaman murder case, in which the two seers
Jayendra Saraswati and his junior Vijayendra Saraswati are the
main accused.
Of the 24 accused, only seven were present in court when
the hearing resumed today before the Principal District and
Sessions Judge T Ramaswamy.
The absentees included the two seers, who have been charged
under various IPC sections for criminal conspiracy and murder.
During the trial today one of the five witnesses examined
and cross examined turned hostile, contradicting the statement
he had given earlier to police.
The judge then adjourned the case to tomorrow.
A total of 118 witnesses have so far been examined since
commencement of the trial here, of whom 62 have turned
hostile. The Supreme Court had shifted the case here from
Chengalpattu district court on a petition filed
by Jayendra Saraswathi in October 2005.
Sankararaman, manager in Varadarajaperumal temple in
Kancheepuram, was allegedly murdered on the temple premises on
September 3, 2004.
PTI
First Published: Monday, November 29, 2010, 14:30