BENGALURU: Two prime witnesses — a driver and conductor with Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) — turned hostile, resulting in the acquittal of more than 20 persons who were accused of vandalism. They were booked in two cases for damaging buses and a murder attempt while protesting the Supreme Court verdict on the Cauvery water dispute in 2016.
Ironically, none of the independent witnesses came forward to support the prosecution case to prove the guilt of the accused beyond all doubt. Only police officials spoke about the alleged incident. Therefore, the court said, “Without corroborative evidence, merely on official witnesses’ testimony, it is not safe to say the accused committed the alleged offences.”
“There are no materials against the accused to say that in the alleged protest, the accused participated and committed offences levelled against them. Hence, I am of the opinion that it is not sufficient to hold the accused guilty for the alleged offences. The prosecution utterly failed to prove the guilt of the accused beyond all reasonable doubt,” said Judge Kashim Churikhan, additional city civil and sessions court.
A driver, who is the informant, stated that police did not draw mahazar in his presence, and he has not given a statement to police, and does not know the accused. He also denied that he showed the place of the incident to the police, and police drew mahazar the very next day of the incident, ie September 12, 2016. He denied police had seized glass pieces, stones and clubs in his presence and police called him to the police station and showed the accused he has identified them. Even the conductor has deposed what the driver has deposed before the court.
The independent witnesses denied that the assailants obstructed the wandering people and plying vehicles and obstructed the police officials to discharge their official duty. They denied that the assailants had assaulted the police officials with clubs, stones, etc., and set ablaze Hoysala vehicles and BMTC buses, damaged fires extinguishing vehicles, assaulted staff, driver and conductor, and damage the buses. But the Head constables have deposed that they have apprehended the accused persons and produced them before the investigating officer.