Shivani verdict likely to be out on March 18

TNN / Mar 6, 2008, 15:45 IST

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After nine years of trial court, on Wednesday fixed March 18 as the date for pronouncing its verdict in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case.

Shivani verdict likely to be out on March 18

NEW DELHI: After a trial spanning nine years, a sessions court on Wednesday fixed March 18 as the date for pronouncing its verdict in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case, in which suspended IPS officer R K Sharma is the key accused.
Additional sessions judge Rajender Kumar Shastri wrapped up proceedings in the high-profile case on Wednesday after the prosecution finished its rebuttal.
The prosecution alleges that Sharma conspired to kill Shivani on January 23, 1999 to retrieve some documents that were in her possession. Apart from R K Sharma, others accused in the case are Pradeep Sharma, Ved Prakash Sharma, Ved alias Kalu, Sri Bhagwan and Satya Prakash.
Terming the murder as a "pre-planned killing" at the behest of R K Sharma, the prosecution claimed that while Pradeep had killed Shivani, the four other accused provided him support and were part of the conspiracy. While the defence has pointed to lack of evidence, the prosecution has submitted that the accused should not be given any "benefit of doubt" as circumstantial evidences clearly point to the accused's common objective to eliminate Shivani. "We do not know what transpired between the accused, but definitely they were working for a common objective - which was to eliminate Shivani," the special prosecutor in the case, S K Saxena says.

Sharma has been in jail since he surrendered in 2002, following a non-bailable warrant, and has admitted that Shivani was a family friend, also known to his wife, but denied having any affair with the deceased. He also denied leaking some classified documents to Shivani, which she later threatened to go public with. The prosecution claims that it was this fear of being exposed that made Sharma - then an OSD at the PMO - to order Shivani's murder. Sharma has also denied knowing other accused in the case.

Police claim the conspiracy to kill Shivani was hatched sometime between December 1998 and May 1999 in Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Pune. On December 24, 1998, Sharma allegedly met co-accused Satya Prakash Sri Bhagwan, Ved Prakash Sharma and Ved alias Kalu at a hotel in the Capital and informed him about his plan. Next, Satya Prakash lured Pradeep with the promise of returning his job in the HUDA and also offered him Rs 3 lakh, adds the prosecution.
All accused have been charged under Section 302 (murder), 120 B (conspiracy) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence). Pradeep, who allegedly strangled the victim, was additionally charged with "misappropriation" as he reportedly decamped with Shivani's gold chain and a camera after the murder.

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