The Hindu : National : It was just friendship, says Bharti Yadav

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It was just friendship, says Bharti Yadav

Staff Reporter

— Photo: R. V. Moorthy

Neelam Katara and her son Nitin Katara at the Patiala House Court in New Delhi on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: Bharti Yadav, crucial witness in the Nitish Katara murder case, has refused to corroborate the evidence attributed to her by the police that she had a love affair with Nitish Katara and that her family resented it.

Concluding her deposition in the case on Thursday, Ms. Bharti submitted before Additional Sessions judge Ravinder Kaur that she just had friendship with Nitish.

At the end of her deposition, counsel S.C. Buttan told mediapersons that his client also denied the prosecution's claim that it had recorded her statement during investigation. She submitted before the court that she just talked to the police about the incident.

"It was a fantasy of someone's mind to say that she was in love with Nitish and intended to marry him," Mr. Buttan said, quoting Ms. Bharti's evidence in his reply to a query about the relationship between Ms. Bharti and the deceased.

Denies sending e-mail

Mr. Buttan said she also denied that she sent any e-mail to Nitish brother Nitin Katara, following the disappearance of the deceased from a marriage ceremony in Ghaziabad on February 16, 2002.

She stated that the ID on which the message was sent to Nitin was not hers, Mr. Buttan said.

When the prosecution confronted Ms. Bharti with some photographs in which she and Nitish are shown together, she owned them, submitting that they reflected nothing more than that they were just friends, Mr. Buttan said.

To the prosecution's query whether her family was resentful of her relationship with Nitish, she said they were not aware of their friendship.

On the other hand, public prosecutor B.S. Joon told the media that Ms. Bharti helped the case of the prosecution and he was satisfied with her evidence.

He said the prosecution wanted to prove three important points — Ms. Bharti's relationship with Nitish; her presence at the marriage ceremony and the resentment of his brothers to the relationship — and she had supported it on all the three counts.

The two-day proceedings were conducted in camera as per the court direction. However, the court on Thursday allowed counsel for Ms. Bharti, the public prosecutor and counsel for the accused to talk to the media on the deposition.

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