New Delhi, July 15: Meet Komal Singh Sengar, prime witness in the Sabharwal murder case. Like all other witnesses, he too turned hostile during the trial. Ironically it was on the basis of Komal Singh’s FIR that the prosecution built its case.
Three years ago, on hidden camera, Komal Singh told CNN-IBN that he wasn’t the only witness to the murder.
“Task force, Rapid Action, three traffic inspectors, one CSP, one City Magistrate, all professors, all university staff – who was not there tell me? I didn’t run alone to save the professor, but I have been made a scapegoat,” he told CNN-IBN then.
The question Komal Singh’s statement raises is – if there were so many witnesses, why didn’t anyone but he come forward? Was political pressure working in favour of the accused?
Another key witness was a Phyiscal Education Instructor at Madhav College, Manohar Dodia. Three years ago, he described in detail what he saw on the day the professor was attacked.
“Student Union members had come here and it was then that Professor Sabharwal came out and one of the union members saw him,” he had said.
ABVP leaders Shashiranjan Akela, Hemant Dubey and Vimal Tomar were the prime accused in the case. CNN IBN met Akela in jail only to find that even though he had been accused of murder, he was getting VIP treatment. And in prison too, Akela remained unapologetic.
“Tell me, what authority does anyone have to cancel elections,” he had said defiantly when asked about what happened on that fateful day.
Soon after, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan visited accused Vimal Tomar in hospital, confirming he was close to the accused. But even now, any talk of political pressure is dismissed.
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister, Manoj Dewas says, “It is possible for anyone to make allegations. It means nothing.”
Professor Sabharwal’s son, Himanshu Sabharwal, fought hard for justice for his father. But in the end, Himanshu himself ended up fending off charges of fighting a battle for the Congress – something that may not have helped his cause.
The ABVP’s contention right through this case has been that Professor Sabharwal’s death was a case of an accident not murder. It’s a line that has also been echoed by Shivraj Singh Chauhan.
Was it a mistake for the prosecution to file a murder case case against all the accused? If the initial charge filed against them was of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, would this case have seen a different end? And who is to blame for that? Sadly, there are still no clear cut answers in the case.
–IANS