Peers Want 'Full' Inquiry Into BMW Lawyers' Conduct

New Delhi, May 31 (UNI) A ''full inquiry'' was tonight called for by peers and experts into an alleged attempt by prosecution and defence lawyers to shield a BMW hit-and-run driver accused of having mowed down six persons in New Delhi nine years ago.

''Let there be a full inquiry,'' former Attorny General Soli Sorabjee told a television channel which had secretly videotaped conversations between defence lawyer R K Anand, public prosecutor I U Khan and a key witness, Sunil Kulkarni.

Former Law Minister Arun Jaitley said the matter ought to be looked into by the Bar Council, a statutory body empowered to discipline errant lawyers. ''It is the exclusive prerogative of the Bar Council.'' The incident in which six persons were allegedly run over by a BMW driven by Sanjeev Nanda, son of an arms dealer, made many headlines in 1999-- but subsequently most witnesses turned hostile.

Footage aired by NDTV yesterday charged collusion involving the prosecution, the defence and the only witness who has not turned hostile.

UNI