IOC official Manjunath murder case posted to Feb 9

Lakhimpur Kheri, Feb 2 (UNI) The murder case of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) marketing officer V Manjunath was today posted to February 9 for the next hearing.

The testimonies and statements of all the eight accused in the case were recorded today.

Earlier, the prosecution produced the then Gola police station head constable Nempal in the court of district judge S M A Abdi.

In his admission, Nempal said the case was registered by him, in which all the eight accused were named.

However, the accused -- Pawan Mittal alias Monu, Devesh Agnihotri, Sanjay Awasthi, Rakesh Anand, Shivkesh alias Lalla, Harish Mishra, Vivek Sharma and Rajesh Verma -- claimed innocence saying they had been framed by the police.

Several witnesses have already turned hostile in the case.

Manjunath's bullet- riddled body was found in the nearby Sitapur district on November 19, 2005.

The Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM-L) alumni was a government servant and had taken a tough stand against adulteration of fuel at some petrol outlets in Lakhimpur Kheri.

UNI