Pareira's lawyer questions credibility of prime witnesses

Mumbai, Jul 10 (UNI) Alistair Pareira's lawyer Manjula Rao today questioned the credibility of two prime witnesses in the hit-and-run case that claimed seven labourers and injured eight others last November, saying that their evidence was contradictory to other records of the case.

Continuing her defence arguments, Rao focussed on two prime witnesses, which included one eye-witness and other security guard of the contracting company which had undertaken works of road divider and footpath repairs.

She contended that the location where the victims were sleeping as given by the eyewitnesses did not match with other records like spot panchanama and presence of this witness on the spot at the time of incidence had not been mentioned anywhere in the records. The other prime witness, the watchman even does not have vital facts as to how many vehicles were parked on the road on that fatal night and how many persons had died in the accident, she added and questioned as to how could the accused be convicted on the basis of such evidence.

She also took strong objection to media portraying Alistair as a murderer.

The division bench comprising Chief Justice Swatanter Kumar and Justice Ranjana Desai will continue to hear the appeal filed by the State government for enhancement of Alistair's sentence, apeal filed by Alistair for acqittal and the suo-motu revision of the case undertaken by the court together tomorrow.

UNI