Pravin now says he didn't kill Pramod

Mumbai: The Pramod Mahajan murder case witnessed an about-turn on Tuesday when the key accused, Pravin Mahajan, pleaded not guilty to charges of murdering his brother. This has now set the stage for the trial to begin in the case.

According to the police, Pravin Mahajan had confessed to the Worli police to shooting Pramod Mahajan immediately after the April 2006 shooting. Hours after the murder Pravin had allegedly voluntarily handed over his gun to the police and said to have confessed to police that he had pumped four bullets into his brother at point-blank range at the latter's Worli residence.

On Tuesday, appearing before Sessions Judge Shrihari P Davare, Pravin pleaded 'not guilty' to the charges of murder and criminal trespass, which effectively means he now denies having killed Pramod Mahajan.

The police claim Pravin Mahajan's confessional interview was recorded on a CD. But it turned out that the CD has no audio track. "It is only a video CD," the investigating officer told the judge. "It records the presence of persons coming into the station, or appearing before us. There is no audio recording on it," he said.

Pravin Mahajan has been charged by the court under Section 449 of the IPC for trespassing into his brother's residence on April 22, 2006 following which he allegedly committed an offence punishable by death. He was also charged under Section 302 of the IPC for firing at his brother thrice using his pistol, which resulted in Pramod's death on May 3, 2006.

Pravin's defence team now claims the case now hinges on factors other than Pravin's confession. "The prosecution will have to prove its story beyond all reasonable doubt through witnesses and documents it brings before the court," they say.

The prosecution, however, claim Pravin's retraction was of no consequence. "We have enough material to prove the case against the accused," they claim. “His denial of guilt does not affect our case unduly."

The two key witnesses in the case are Pramod Mahajan's wife Rekha Mahajan, who saw her brother-in-law kill her husband. And Mahajan's brother in-law Gopinath Munde, a BJP leader.

Legal experts, however, don't see this development as any setback to the case. "In such criminal cases, accused rarely pleads guilty. Almost every accused denies his culpability before the courts, thus challenging the prosecution to prove him guilty," they say. "Criminal jurisprudence puts the onus of proof on the prosecution. Every accused is merely an accused until his guilt is duly proved," they point out.

On Tuesday, when he was presented in the court of Sessions Judge Shrihari P Davare, Pravin stood silently in the witness dock while the charges were read out by the court. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, following which the court directed the prosecution to begin the trial in the case.

Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam told the court that he will submit a list of documents that the prosecution will rely on during the trial and sought time until January 31 to submit the list, which was granted.