Jessica Lal murder case: Roop Singh hits back

     Una (Himachal Pradesh): Giving a twist in the Jessica Lal murder case, Roop Singh, the former Principal scientific officer at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), who prepared the forensic report, refuted allegations made by investigators that he replaced one of the empty cartridges in the forensic lab. Inspector Surinder Sharma, the investigating officer in the case, had alleged that Singh changed the cartridges at the CFSL at the behest of Uttar Pradesh politician DP Yadav, whose son Vikas Yadav was one of the main accused in the case.

    "I fail to understand why this officer is making such allegations against me as no police officer or superior officer had expressed their displeasure against me during the 40 years of my service. The court has also accepted my findings and I have handled many crucial cases genuinely and with full sincerity. I strongly refute all the allegations made against me," Roop Singh told ANI. Singh further went on to say, "I got the bullets in a sealed condition. I was the reporting officer in this case and since it's a nine-year-old case, I don't remember the case exactly but I still stand by my report that I filed at that time". "It is also being alleged that I mysteriously disappeared in 1999 after submitting the report but I am extremely hurt by such an allegation because I am not an absconder or culprit. I was honourably retired in 2001 and my address is there in the records with my department. I am regularly getting the summons, I am attending the court proceedings regularly," Singh, who retired after serving the CFSL for about 40 years, said. Singh also said that he did not manipulate the evidence at the lab.

     A Delhi Court had last month acquitted prime accused Manu Sharma and Vikas Yadav sons of Congress politicians along with seven other co-accused in the sensational Jessica Lal murder case. Their acquittal, however, raised several eyebrows, as many believed that some manipulation was done with the evidences related with the case. Model Jessica Lal was shot at point blank range on the night of April 29, 1999 while she was working as a celebrity barmaid in the Tamarind Court Bar owned by socialite Bina Ramani. It was alleged that Lal was murdered by Manu Sharma alias Siddharth Vashist, son of Congress politician and former Union Minister of State for Food and Civil Supplies Vinod Sharma, after she refused to serve him a drink since the bar had closed for the day. The Delhi Police in its primary investigation also indicted Vikas Yadav, the son of former Rajya Sabha Parliamentarian D P Yadav, along with ten others. The sensational murder case had a high profile list of accused which included names like Amardeep Singh Gill, Coca-Cola company officials Alok Khanna, Shyam Sunder Sharma, Amit Jhingan, Yograj Singh, Harvinder Chopra, Vikas Gill, Raja Chopra, Ravinder Krishan Sudan and Dhanraj. They had been charged under sections 120(b), 302, 201 and 212 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). However, the court acquitted Manu on the murder charges along with Vikas Yadav, Amardeep Singh Gill, Alok Khanna and Shyam Sunder Sharma on the charges of destroying evidences. The verdict came after a long hiatus of six years in which the case saw numerous twists and turns with a large number of witnesses turning hostile. Deepak Bhojwani, socialite Bina Ramani, her husband George Mailhot, and her daughter Malini had testified that they had seen prime accused Manu Sharma with three other co-accused at the party. Defence lawyer K.N. Balgopal had said that there was no evidence against the accused and the circumstantial evidence against them was not enough to penalise them. The case that had captured front page headlines as it included the who's and who of Delhi society, both on the right and the wrong side of the law. The public in general had also expressed shock over the court's ruling. Mannu Sharma had been out on bail since October 16, 2004, while co-accused Vikas Yadav remains in judicial custody as he was also the prime accused in the Nitish Katara murder case.

Justice not done in Jessica case: Delhi CM

     New Delhi: Following close on the heels of Congress President Sonia Gandhi's deep concern in the Jessica Lal murder case and request for a change in law to protect witnesses, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today said that "justice does not appear to have been done in it". "I think the Jessica Lal case is a touching case in which justice does not appear to have been done. I think all women are feeling extremely distressed about it," said Sheila. She further added: "I do hope that law will take its proper course and justice will be brought to the case which has suffered from injustice". The recent days have seen growing outcry by people at large regarding the acquittal of all the accused in the sensational murder case that took place seven years ago and involved the who's and who of Delhi's elite class. Sushma Swaraj, Deputy Leader of Rajya Sabha and BJP leader had also, earlier expressed doubt on the investigation in the case by the Delhi Police. On Saturday, Swaraj said that that the way the Jessica Lal murder case was investigated in a very shoddy manner. Hundreds of people on Saturday led a silent protest and assembled at the India Gate to express solidarity with the victim's family by lighting candles. Prominent among them were Jessica's sister Sabrina, social activist Swami Agnivesh, Neelam Krishnamurthy of the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy, young murder victim Nitish Katara's mother Neelam Katara, fashion designer Ravi Bajaj, model Joey Mathew and a large number of students and teachers from Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University.

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