Another witness says couldn’t read sedative name in brutal Kathua Rape & Murder Case

In a further setback to the prosecution in the brutal rape and murder case of the nomadic Kathua girl, one more witness has expressed his inability to recall the name of the sedative administered to the victim while she was being held captive at a temple.
Naib-tehsildar Kamal Singh, a witness in the case, on Monday told the sessions court that “he couldn’t read the name of the medicine from the strip” recovered from Devsthan, sources told Kashmir Post.
“I can’t say what kind of medicine it was,” Singh is learnt to have told the court. “I couldn’t also read the manufacturing date, expiry date and name of the manufacturer from the strip that was recovered from Devsthan.”
Earlier, another witness, a chemist who according to the Crime Branch had sold the drug to one of the accused had turned hostile in the court.
The charge-sheet says the drug had been bought by Deepak Khajuria from a shop at Kootah and handed it to another accused Shubham who then administered it to the victim to keep her sedated.
“I have never sold this particular drug to anybody including the accused Deepak Khajuria, and nor do I keep this particular drug at my shop,” the chemist had said at the Pathankot district and sessions court where in-camera hearing of the case is being held on a day to day basis.
Talking to media persons outside the court after the day’s proceedings, defence lawyer AK Sawhney raised questions over the investigation of the Crime Branch.
“Two out of the three naib-tehsildars, produced in the court as witnesses, bypassed their jurisdiction and went to Devsthan,” Sawhney said.
“Why Crime Branch didn’t involve the concerned naib-tehsildar of Rasana in the investigation?” the defence lawyer asked.
The defence lawyer also said that by “suppressing the names of witnesses, the prosecution is obstructing fair trial of the case”.
Pertinently, the defence lawyers had moved an application in the court demanding that the defence be told the “names of the witnesses” to be produced in the court at least a day in advance so that they could prepare for cross-examination.
The matter will be taken up by the court on Tuesday when both prosecution and the defence lawyers will make their arguments.

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