THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 50th witness turned hostile on the first day of the sensational Abhaya murder case trial. Sister Anupama, who shared room with sister Abhaya, at Pius X Convent in Kottayam, retracted from the statement that she had earlier given before the CBI.
Her statement was that she had seen the footwear and the nun habit that Abhaya used to wear in the Kitchen. She had also stated that she heard a sound from the well in the convent premise. During the trial at the special CBI court, Anupama denied giving the statements and said she did not see or hear anything suspicious on that fateful night.
Following this, the court declared her hostile. On the first day of trial, only three witnesses were listed for the examination of which two were already dead. The statements of Anupama had been heavily relied upon by the prosecution as those were included in the Chargesheet.
The trial in the sensational case that had created a lot of repercussions in the political and social spheres has commenced 27 years after Abhaya's death. Abhaya was found dead in the well of Pius X Convent on March 27, 1992. The CBI took over the case after it was probed by the local police and Crime Branch.