Bhim murder: Don’t deliver final verdict yet, SC tells trial court
ABOHAR: The Supreme Court has stayed passing of final judgment by a Fazilka trial court in proceedings in the Bhim Sain Tank murder case. Liquor baron Shiv Lal Doda, along with his nephew Amit and 24 others, were booked for killing the 27-year-old Dalit youth at Doda’s farmhouse in Abohar on December 11, 2015. Doda is now lodged in Amritsar jail.
A two-judge bench of the SC, comprising justice SA Bob de and justice Mohan M Shantagauhar, issued the order in response to plea filed by Kaushalya Devi, mother of Bhim Sain.
The mother had pleaded the SC for staying the order of Punjab and Haryana high court in which it (the HC) had ordered that the trial court was not to have Abohar resident Akash, 25, appear as a witness. Doda had, then, filed an application before the high court against Akash, 25, appearing in the case as a witness. His plea was allowed.
“The statement of Akash was in the police file. Yet, his name went missing from the list of witnesses when the case went to court. Later, Akash gave an application to the local court to appear as witness. This was allowed, but Doda moved HC against this order and his plea was accepted,” said Devi.
On July 11 this year, the SC has rejected the bail application of Doda.
After Doda was caught holding an illegal meeting inside the Fazilka sub-jail, he was transferred to the Amritsar jail. Doda, who owed allegiance to the Shiromani Akali Dal, had fought the 2012 elections as an Independent and secured 45,825 votes, losing to Sunil Jakhar of the Congress by 9,788 votes. In the 2017 polls, he had again filed nomination as an Independent from Abohar, but later withdrew it in favour of BJP nominee, Arun Narang.
In the third week of May, Ferozepur divisional excise and taxation commissioner Jaswinder Singh met Doda in Amritsar central jail, which had kicked off a fresh row.