The Hindu : `Let Mahajan undergo lie detector test'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 21, 2002

National

National

`Let Mahajan undergo lie detector test'

By Rajesh Ahuja

CHANDIGARH AUG. 20. In yet another shift of stand in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case, Madhu Sharma, wife of the prime accused, R.K. Sharma, IG Prisons (Haryana), accused the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Pramod Mahajan, of being a "liar'' and having "intimate'' relations with Shivani.

On her return from Delhi to Panchkula, near here, today, Ms. Sharma challenged Mr. Mahajan to undergo a lie detector test which she too was prepared to undergo. However, she attached a rider that the test be carried out by an independent agency other than the Delhi police.

She also retracted her earlier assertion that her husband would surrender if his anticipatory bail was rejected by the Delhi High Court and said that a final decision would be taken only after what happens in the court on August 26. She had told presspersons in New Delhi on Monday that Mr. Sharma would not "surrender" but move the Supreme Court in case his bail plea was turned down.

She reiterated today that she had never accused Mr. Mahajan of having got Shivani murdered. What she had said time and again was that he knew the journalist well and should be treated by the Delhi police on the same basis as her husband and duly questioned. On Saturday, she said that she was not aware of the exact nature of relationship between Mr. Mahajan and Shivani, but today she said: "I know Mr. Mahajan is telling a lie about his relations with Shivani. They enjoyed an intimate relationship.''

She also alleged that Mr. Mahajan had talked to Shivani on the day of her death.

Flanked by her daughter, Ms. Sharma further charged Mr. Mahajan with "fooling" the public by asserting that he did not know her husband and that he was ready to face any enquiry to prove his innocence.

She said her husband knew Shivani, who was having "intimate" relations with Mr. Mahajan, and that is how the Minister and he came to know each other. However, Ms. Sharma and her daughter refused to speak about any "concrete evidence''.

"Why should we disclose the evidence now? It is going to be our main defence in court." The whole truth and a "bigger conspiracy" would be out in the open after her husband opened his mouth. Then Mr. Mahajan and others would be fully "exposed".

Coming down on the Delhi police, she charged that no new evidence had come up in the case during the last three-and-a-half-years other than transcripts of phone conversations and hearsay. She claimed that even though her husband had repeatedly told the Delhi police to procure the records of Mr. Mahajan's telephone calls, this was not done.

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