Sign on fax not Bharti's: Nitish's mom

New Delhi: In an exclusive chat with CNN-IBN, Nitish Katara's mother Neelam Katara, questioned the validity of the fax allegedly sent by Bharti Yadav to the Patiala House Court.

In the fax, Bharti had said that she was ready to depose before the court but through video conferencing from London.

However, Neelam Katara said that she had seen enough of Bharti's handwriting and signatures to know that this fax was not sent by Bharti.

She also said that with the kind of evidence that was there in the case, Bharti would have to come down to India to depose. She added that the idea of video conferencing had already been turned down by the high court.

She said that this was just another part of the game that the defence was playing.

She also said that the address and phone number of the person who sent the fax could be easily traced and thus get an idea of Bharti's whereabouts.

Four years, six bail applications and hundreds of trips to the courts to secure justice — for 54-year old Neelam Katara the battle has been far from easy.

"She has moved from trail court to high court to Supreme Court, sometimes to secure bail just to secure justice," says special public prosecutor, B S Joon.

Like Jessica Lal, Nitish Katara too seems to have been betrayed by friends. On Feb 16, Bharti and Nitish had gone to attend a wedding, where Vikas and his cousin Vishal were present as well.

Nitish's friends testified that he had gone out with Vishal, but never came back.

PAGE_BREAK

The prime witness in the case Bharti Yadav, went to London for further studies and despite repeated summons has not deposed before the court.

Like the Jessica Lall murder case, the role of the prosecution in this case is being questioned.

In 2005, the prosecution had allowed Bharti Yadav to be dropped as a prime witness.

Shivani, the bride in the video, turned hostile. Her brother had claimed that he had seen Nitish walking out with Vishal but the prosecution chose not to examine him.

Though Neelam refuses to give up, she accepts that her struggle was made a little easy given the resources available.

What it points to however is the sad state of our criminal justice system, where many like the Katara's, the Lal’s and the Mattoo’s continue to be victimised.

(With inputs from Arunima)