Praveen: Hemmed in?

Mumbai, Dec. 1: The Pramod Mahajan murder trial entered its final phase today with the prosecution seeking death penalty for accused Praveen Mahajan.

The BJP leader’s youngest brother, who allegedly shot Pramod at his Worli residence on April 2, 2006, faces charges under Sections 302 and 449 (house trespass with intention to commit murder) of the IPC.

Special public prosecutor Niteen Pradhan sought capital punishment for Praveen on the ground that it had been established that he was present in Pramod’s flat and the bullets were fired from his licensed revolver.

That Praveen left his injured brother in the room without providing him urgent medical aid showed that he had fired at Pramod with the intention to kill, the lawyer argued in the sessions court.

“(If he had no intention to kill), he should have taken Pramod to the hospital and then gone to the police station. Instead of this, after being dragged out of the house (by Rekha Mahajan), he went to the Worli police station to surrender himself and confess his crime,” Pradhan said.

“Praveen deserves hanging and nothing less.”

Pleading “not guilty” to the charges, Praveen had admitted visiting Pramod’s Worli house but denied having shot him. His final statement was recorded in-camera by additional sessions judge Srihari Daware and his cross-examination was also conducted in-camera.

Pradhan had yesterday urged the court to consider the statements made by five prosecution witnesses under the legal provision of Res Gestae. Res Gestae (which means “things done” in Latin) is based on the belief that as certain statements by witnesses are made naturally, spontaneously and without deliberation during the course of an event, they leave little room for misinterpretation upon hearing by someone else and, thus, carry a high degree of credibility.

Police official Jayaram Kesarkar of Worli police station had told the court that Praveen arrived at the police station 25 minutes after Pramod was fired at, and had said: “I have just come here after firing at Pramod Mahajan.”

Minutes after the firing, Rekha had informed Pramod’s sister Pradnya Munde that Praveen had shot her husband. Pradnya, in turn, had informed her husband Gopinath Munde.

Servant Mahesh Wankhede had phoned Mahajan’s son-in-law Anand Rao, who then informed his wife Poonam.

“The five unconnected witnesses learnt about the incident from two direct witnesses. Their perceptions were spontaneous and corroborated, and hence were admissible under Res Gestae,” Pradhan said.