The Hindu : He was not present during shootout, say police

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 10, 2002

National

National

He was not present during shootout, say police

By Prashant Pandey

Hari Krishna with his sons, Tanmay (left) and Nayan, and wife, Sushma, addressing a press conference at his residence in New Delhi on Saturday. — Photo: R.V. Moorthy

NEW DELHI NOV. 9. Hari Krishna, the doctor who alleges that the Ansal Plaza encounter was a fake one, came out of hiding today and reiterated that he had seen the two men being shot in cold-blood, even as police argued that Dr. Krishna was nowhere near the complex when the shootout with the terrorists took place.

Talking to mediapersons at his Greater Kailash clinic-cum-residence this morning, Dr. Krishna said he had gone to the shopping mall along with his son and his wife around 7-15 p.m.

``My vehicle was stopped at the entrance by a couple of persons. However, my son, who was driving the vehicle, managed to dodge them and enter the basement parking. Before the vehicle came to a halt, I saw two men, who were barely able to walk and probably under sedation, being shot at indiscriminately. The entire operation was completed within a couple of minutes.''

Asked if he saw the men who were firing at the terrorists, Dr. Krishna said it all happened too quickly for him to figure out.

His wife, Sushma, said that initially she thought some fight had broken out in the basement when she heard the gunshots. But before she could get out of the vehicle, it was all over. ``I saw what he saw,'' she added.

Dr. Krishna asserted that he had no trust in the National Human Rights Commission and that he had never asked for security.

He also refused to cooperate with the investigations, rejecting the summons sent by police.

The Delhi police, meanwhile, countered Dr. Krishna's claim citing ``records'' of his movements on the evening of November 3.

At a separate press conference at his residence later, the Joint Commissioner of Police (Special Cell), Neeraj Kumar, said that Dr. Krishna entered Ansal Plaza only at 9.32 p.m. ``As per our records, Krishna was in Greater Kailash at 6.25 p.m. He then went to Soami Nagar in Malviya Nagar at 7-30 p.m. and remained there till 8. 03 p.m.,'' said Mr. Kumar.

Dr. Krishna remained in the complex till about 11 p.m., leaving the spot for a short while in between.

Dr. Krishna was earlier quoted as having said that he had been in complex from 6 p.m. till midnight.

However, police were not sure if he came to the parking lot at 9.30 p.m. or went straight into the mall.

Apart from ``tracking the movement'' of Dr. Krishna through his mobile phone, police said they also cross-checked with the persons Dr. Krishna had spoken to on his mobile.

``All of them told us that it was indeed Dr. Krishna who was on the phone,'' Mr. Kumar said.

Earlier, Dr. Krishna was reported as saying that he had at least three mobile phones.

Police said they had no information whether Dr. Krishna's wife was also present there. ``Since it is Dr. Krishna who is making the allegations, we need not question his wife,'' Mr. Kumar said.

He also rejected the charge that police tried to harass or threaten Dr. Krishna.

A team from the security wing of the Delhi Police has been posted at the doctor's residence. The Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Security) visited his house to supervise the arrangements.

The bodies of the two terrorists were handed over to the Wakf Board after post-mortem today.

The unclaimed bodies were buried at the New Cemetery at Feroz Shah Kotla Burial Ground belonging to the Board. The police said since the post-mortem was carried out and formalities with the agencies concerned completed, there was no reason to delay the burial any further.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

National