Thaindian News

New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) The prosecution Wednesday relied upon a statement made by controversial eyewitness Sunil Kulkarni in the BMW hit-and-run case in which six people were killed here nine years ago. “The statement of Kulkarni cannot be brushed aside completely on the basis of some minor alterations,” said public prosecutor Rajeev Mohan before Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Kumar here. The judge was heariing the final arguments in the case relating to the 1999 accident in which Sanjeev Nanda, grandson of former navy chief Admiral S.M. Nanda, is the main accused.

Kulkarni, who also played a crucial role in a sting operation that claimed to expose an alleged nexus between former public prosecutor I.U. Khan and defence counsel R.K. Anand, had earlier given conflicting statements about the accident and the presence of Sanjeev Nanda at the accident spot.

“The undisputed portion of Kulkarni’s statements, given to the police, the magistrate and then in this court, could be relied upon to establish some facts - such as on the date of incident he was in Delhi and Kulkarni witnessed the fateful accident,” the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said Kulkarni’s claim about his whereabouts at the time of accident stood corroborated by the testimony of an employee of a hotel where he stayed in Delhi.

The arguments will continue Thursday as well.

Nanda was allegedly driving the BMW car that mowed down six people sleeping on a pavement of Lodhi Road in the wee hours of Jan 10, 1999.