Prof killed, probe murdered

New Delhi: It has been seven months since Professor H S Sabharwal was killed after being allegedly assaulted by BJP-affiliated Akhil Bharitiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists at the Madhav College in Ujjain.

A CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team dug up evidence to show a clear complicity between ABVP activists accused in the professor's murder and the state authorities.

It was a murder that took place in front of hundreds of people. Yet no one really "saw" Prof Sabharwal being killed.

In fact, what's alarming is that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chauhan called Prof Sabharwal's murder an accident, ostensibly to shield the leaders of ABVP. He also claimed that no FIR was lodged in the case.

On the panel of experts to discuss how the state authorities are shielding those accused in the case were Professor H S Sabharwal's son Himanshu Sabharwal, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar and former DGP of Uttar Pradesh Prakash Singh.

The BJP’s Defense

When BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar was asked to respond to CNN-IBN’s investigation, he said, "I am very sure that whatever is happening in the jail is not like Uttar Pradesh and it is by rule of law. Whatever the jail manual provides for undertrials, must be accorded to them.”

But then, does that mean that Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, the state government of the BJP is not interfering in the case?

While taking a dig at the Left, Javdekar said, “We have given the CID the freedom to investigate the case properly. We are not in West Bengal, where the CPI-M cadres can kill farmers to acquire the land and give it to the Capitalists. The government has investigated the case and booked the culprits. The matter has been immediately brought to the court.”

The Son’s Take

Professor Sabharwal's son Himanshu, who refused to appear as a witness in court on Wednesday - saying the trial was a mockery of justice - begged to differ.

“If they are doing a good job then how is it possible that a DIG report, which came up within five days of the murder, states that a certain number of police officials witnessed the murder and yet kept standing there shamelessly? They were inactive to the extent of passivity and even abetment,” he said.

Himanshu, who slammed the BJP for its role in handling the investigation, questioned Javdekar: “Isn’t he ashamed of the conduct of BJP in Madhya Pradesh because the three police officials involved in the case have not only been reinstated but also promoted?”

He added that the system was “obsolete” and there was a dire need for change.

However, Javadekar sought to clarify the BJP’s stand, saying, “We are not running a media trial. It is the duty of the courts to verify the evidence and the court will decide if it is murder and who is responsible for it.”

Next Page: The witness turns hostile

The witness turns hostile

The murder happened in front of hundreds of people and yet, no one claims to have seen Prof Sabharwal being murdered - except for Komal Singh Sengar, the main witness in the case. Today, he lives in constant fear and has no form of support or even a witness protection.

He spent 72 hours in police custody facing intense pressure from the police to change his statement. Sure enough, like all the key witnesses in the case, he turned hostile a few days later.

In fact, Komal Singh admitted to the Special Investigation Team of CNN-IBN that senior police officers pressured him to change his statement, asking him to suppress the truth.

When he heard this, the DGP of Uttar Pradesh Prakash Singh said that the need of the hour was for a law keeping force that would steer clear of political influences.

“One of the pre-requisites of a fair investigation is to insulate police from political influences. The Madhya Pradesh government has been dragging its feet in the matter of implementing this Supreme Court directive,” he said.

Javadekar agreed that law and order needs to be de-linked from investigation: “The state authorities have booked the alleged culprits and investigated the case. Now, it is the duty of the court to take further action.”

The Final Word

Despite the fact that five witnesses have turned hostile in the long-drawn murder case, Himanshu Sabharwal says he is confident that justice will be meted out in the case.

“Everybody who is involved in the heinous crime is going to be booked. However, the onus of how quickly the justice will be delivered lies on the decision of the Supreme Court.”

MURDER MOST FOUL
	Professor Sabharwal died on August 26 after being allegedly beaten up by BJP-affiliated students union, ABVP activists after elections in Madhav College were cancelled.
	Besides ABVP president Shashi Ranjan Akela and activist Vimal Tomar, the State CID has arrested six persons
	Librarian of Madhav College, Govind Kushwaha and BJP leader Sanwar Patel, peon Komal Singh and Naval Kishore and sports teacher Manohar Dodia of Madhav College turned hostile and refused to identify those arrested by the state CID.
	Both Singh and Dodia told the court that, though, they had seen some people manhandling the professor, they are unable to identify them.
	The prosecution had based its entire story on circumstantial evidence and the statements of the seven witnesses
	More than 5,000 people - including senior college professors - were present when Professor Sabharwal was beaten to death.