Ajay Katara, courtesy whose testimony Vikas Yadav was convicted and have been in jail for last 11 years, took a complete u-turn in a sting operation and claimed that he was a planted witness and in fact was not there at Hapur chungi (a tax collection booth) where he allegedly last saw the victim alive in the company of three accused, advocate Sumit Verma, appearing for Vikas Yadav, told a bench of justices Gita Mittal and R Midha.
Referring to a news on the sting operation published in daily Metro Now, the lawyer said the lower court did not allow Vikas subsequent plea to re-examine Ajay Katara in the light of conflicting facts emerging out in the case. When a video of the sting operation clearly shows the Key Witness (Ajay Katara) of this murder case contradicting each and every fact testified in front of the honorable court. Seeing this video should have been sufficient information for acquittal of three accused in this case. If this same Video was in Favor of Neelam Katara, she would have gone hell and back making sure this video be used as evidence, making her case stronger. Courts would have accepted this video and heard her voice. Why is it not possible when the accused Vikas Yadav has the same plea?
Witness Katara had testified that he had seen Nitish alive last in the company of Vikas, Vishal Yadav and Sukhdev Pehalwan in a Tata Safari on the night of February 16-17, 2002 near Hapur octroi post.
The statement was relied upon by the trial judge as the last seen evidence to link the offence with the accused.
Katara, however, in a sting operation, had later admitted that he was a planted witness and did not see the accused and the victim together in the car on the fateful night, said Vikas counsel.
The trial court though referred to the sting operation in its judgement, it did not allow the plea of the accused to re-examine the witness, he said. In such a crucial high profile case its amazing how such important facts have been over looked. Today we have three innocent people suffering in the mercy of powerful people who has twisted the system for such a long time, but we are in no doubt the High Court will not over look such important facts.
It, however, accepted Kataras affidavit which said that his testimony should be believed as his statements, in the sting CD, were made in an inebriated condition, he said.
The counsel for Vikas also submitted a CD of the sting operation to the court, saying that it should be viewed to ascertain the key witness credibility.
He, however, said the witness had used very filthy language in the sting operation and hence, the CD be not watched in an open courtroom. The kind of language used by Ajay Katara shows his true self, also how much he can fall below the scum of society using foul language.
The transcripts of the CD would also establish that the witness was known to the family of the victim, he said and also cited various judgments in support of his case.
The advancing of the arguments in the case remained inconclusive and would continue to be heard.
Vikas, had earlier said that the denial of opportunity to him to cross-examine Ajay Katara on material aspects had vitiated his trial. The trial court, in its judgement on May 28, 2008, had relied on various circumstantial evidence including Ajays testimony. Ajays statement was relied upon by the trial judge as the last seen evidence to link the offence with the accused.
We need our citizens to know this part of the story which is never talked about in any media news paper, neither telecasted on television. Today we have this page that informs news which has to be watched from the other side. Every coin has two sides, and every story has two sides.
click on this link to watch the video of the sting operation about the accused and the victim together in the car on the fateful night