Pravin Mahajan to plead for psychiatric tests

Mumbai, May 16: On the eve of production in court of Pravin Mahajan, arrested on the charge of murdering his elder brother and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Pramod Mahajan, his lawyer today said he would again appeal to the court to allow the accused to undergo psychiatric tests.

This, Nandkumar Rajurkar, Pravin's counsel, said, is necessary to know his state of mind.

His earlier pleas for the tests had been rejected by the court when the prosecution informed that the accused was being regularly examined by doctors as prescribed in the guidelines enunciated by the Supreme Court.

Pravin, who inflicted fatal injuries to Mahajan on April 22 when he pumped three bullets into him, would be produced before the court tomorrow on the expiry of his first judicial remand.

the Prosecution will plead for its extension.

Pravin was remanded to judicial custody till May 17 on the expiry of his 11-day police remand on May 3 - the day Mahajan succumbed to his injuries.

Meanwhile, the lawyer today confirmed that Pravin's 17-year-old twins - son Kapil and daughter Vrushali- had met their father in the Arthur Road jail on Saturday. Rajurkar said the children were accompanied by their maternal uncle. However, Pravin's wife Sarangi has not yet met her husband since April 22 when he surrendered to the police with the firearm after allegedly commiting the crime.

Although the court, while sending Pravin to judicial custody on May 3, had granted his permission to take home food, his lawyer said the accused has refused it and is on the jail food since.

UNI