New Delhi, Feb 18: A day after senior IPS officer and main accused in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case pointed fingers at her husband Rakesh for the murder, a co-accused today said conduct of the deceased journalist's brother-in-law too was not entirely free of suspicion. Bhagwan Swarup Bhatnagar, who had come from Chandigarh to attend a meeting scheduled for January 23, 1999 - the day Shivani was murdered - had suddenly changed his plans and decided to return, counsel for Pradeep Sharma B Goswami told additional sessions Judge J M Malik.
Bhatnagar was the first person to enter the flat, where Shivani lay in a pool of blood. However, police had not taken his fingerprints, Goswami said.
Investigators had also not bothered to confirm if there was any such change in programme as claimed by Bhatnagar, he said.
Counsel for another accused Sri Bhagwan Sharma said police was mainly relying on acquaintance between the IPS officer and Sri Bhagwan and that Sharma had used Bhagwan's mobile to make calls to discuss the conspiracy.
There was nothing criminal in knowing a person, counsel S P Ahluwalia said adding there was no evidence to show that the said moblie belonged to his client.
On the photograph of Shivani claimed to have been recovered from the house of accused Satya Prakash's in-laws, his counsel said the seizure memo did not have the signatures of the in-laws. Nor did police record their statements, he said adding the photo could not be admitted in evidence. Bureau Report