Advocates of former Minister Gopal Krishna Patar alias Raja Peter, arrested by the National Investigation Agency for allegedly conspiring the murder of the then Tamar MlA Ramesh Singh Munda in 2008, will approach the High Court for getting the certified copies of confessional statements and statements recorded under section 164 by him and other accused persons. The special designated NIA court-in-charge Shambu lal Sao, after hearing arguments from both sides in this regard on Thursday, referred it to a regular court.
“We will definitely approach High Court against the violation of rights of our client as there is a provision of providing certified copies of the documents related to the case one has been booked. As the case has been referred to the regular court, we will not be able to get the certified copies before November 1,” said one of the defense counsel Akash Deep.
Incidentally, the court had allowed the petition filed by NIA that the statements recorded by Patar before it and in the court under section 164 should not be disclosed before anybody, including the defence counsel as it contained several confidential evidences in it.
Meanwhile, the NIA will interrogate Raja Peter and Maoists Kundan Pahan and Balram Sahu, currently on remand of NIA, in front of each other to verify the statements recorded by them individually. However, the sources revealed that they could not be brought from the jail on Thursday as Balram Sahu was lodged in Dumka Jail.
Kundan Pahan has already been interrogated five times by the NIA in Ramesh Singh Munda murder case. Recently, the NIA interrogated him from September 8 to 22 during which he is said to have disclosed the names of Raja Peter and ASI Sheshnath Singh in Ramesh Singh Munda murder case, following which the NIA came into action and arrested them.
Ramesh Singh Munda, alongwith his two bodyguards, one party colleague and a student were shot dead allegedly by the group of dreaded Maoist Kundan Pahan on July 9, 2008 while delivering his speech at a school function at SS High School at Bundu located in his assembly constituency Tamar, hardly 50 km from the State Capital Ranchi. The NIA arrested Raja Peter for allegedly conniving with Kundan Pahan for killing Munda, his biggest political rival.