Court hauls up prosecution for poor investigation

Mumbai, Apr 13 (UNI) Additional sessions judge A P Mishra, who convicted Alistair Pereira in a drunken-driving case, today hauled up the prosecution for poor investigation into the case.

Seven labourers were killed and eight others injured after the Pereira's car had run over labourers sleeping on the pavement.

However, the prosecution had failed to prove that the injuries suffered by the eight who had escaped death, were of serious nature.

The court, therefore, held the Pereira guilty for causing minor injuries on this count.

The judge observed he was aware that the eight had suffered serious injuries but as the police had failed to submit relevant documents, the court had to regard the injuries as minor.

The judge observed that while going through the documents submitted before the court, it appeared as if the investigating agency had conducted the investigation in a casual manner, leading to the presumption that the investigating agency did not want the accused to be punished.

UNI