After four of his earlier counsels withdrew one after another, Manoharan, the lone surviving accused in the Muskan-Rithik murder case, has got a new advocate to defend him.
The legal aid cell was having a tough time for the past two days in finding an advocate for Manoharan as most of the panel advocates refused to appear for him. On Friday, the DLSA secretary Ramaparthiban appointed Advocate A Sharmila after she expressed consent.
Manoharan is the lone surviving accused in the murder of siblings R Muskan Jain (10) and R Rithik Jain (8) in October 2010. The prime accused Mohana Krishnan was shot dead by the police when he allegedly attempted to escape.
The trial in the case has almost neared completion as cross-examination of almost all important witnesses was over. But four defence counsels had either voluntarily withdrawn from appearing in the case or bowed out due to the reluctance of the accused in engaging them.
The new advocate, Sharmila, with around 14 years of experience was confident as a defence counsel. “I have taken up cases assigned by legal aid cell earlier and have successfully defended the accused. This is a difficult case but I am confident that I will do my best,” she said.