The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : `Swabs prove Balakrishna opened fire'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 01, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

`Swabs prove Balakrishna opened fire'

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JAN. 31. Arguments in the shooting case involving the film actor, N. Balakrishna, began here on Monday at the Metropolitan Sessions Judge court. While the prosecution stated that the scientific evidence of the gun shot residue found on cotton swabs collected from the palms of Balakrishna proved that he had opened fire, defence counsel observed that the charges were legally not conceivable and the facts were distorted.

The public prosecutor, A. Ravinder Reddy, began his arguments quoting the Supreme Court, which observed that a dying declaration could be treated as a statement made under Section 164 of Criminal Procedure Code if the victim survived.

The prosecution had to refer to this citation in the backdrop of the two victims - the film producer, B. Suresh, and the astrologer, Satyanarayana Choudhary -- who sustained bullet injuries, survived after their dying declarations were recorded. Stating that the defence counsel might argue that the scientific evidence was not valid since no `panchanama' was conducted, the prosecutor maintained that there was no need for the CLUES team officer to do so since he was not a police officer.

Facts concealed

He argued that the other accused, Vasundhara and Kanakaiah, wife and driver of Balakrishna respectively, were guilty because they had tried to conceal the facts by disturbing the scene after the shooting. "Even if the fans opened fire, they should not have disturbed the scene", he observed.

Mr. Ravinder Reddy added that Balakrishna attracted punishment since he violated the Arms Act by purchasing bullets and getting the weapons loaded through the gunman. Defence counsel, V. Surender Rao, contended that the provisions of Arms Act allowed a gun license-holder to authorise a person to carry and load the weapon and purchase ammunition. Hence, Balakrishna did not commit an offence.

Referring to the charges of obliterating evidence against Vasundhara and Kanakaiah, the advocated presented that unless the main allegation of the attempt to murder was proved, the offence of screening the evidence was tenable.

Replying to a question raised by the judge, K. Raja Gopala Reddy, the advocate observed that the screening of evidence charge would remain even if the accused were acquitted of the charges in case of a homicide.

He stated that the police had taken only physical fitness as a criterion and not their mental status while recording the statements of Suresh and Choudhary in hospital.

Questioning the endorsement given by the doctors to record statements of the two victims, the counsel said both of them had expressed that they were not mentally fit to give statements.

"How are we to rely on such endorsement", he asked.

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