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Warning to UP police: Protect second witness

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

Following the death of the main witness in the murder case of Brother George Kuzhikandam, a priest, in Mathura, police has been told to ensure fool-proof security for the second witness. The key witness, Vijay Ekka, was found strangulated to death in mysterious circumstances in police custody on Sunday.

Meanwhile, there is speculation in Uttar Pradesh police circles as to what actually led to Ekka's death.

Uttar Pradesh police chief Sriram Arun told rediff.com, "The second witness is a 12-year-old boy servant who was sleeping close to the slain Christian priest, Brother George, on the night of the murder. He had tried to raise an alarm, but was roughed up by the assailants and then locked in a nearby room, from where he witnessed the entire scene," he said.

The boy would not be kept in the police lines where Ekka was found dead. "We are providing him necessary protection cover inside the precincts of the St Francis School where he used to live with Brother George," Arun said.

The 23-year-old Ekka was the priest's cook and was sleeping in his room, along with his wife, when assailants attacked the priest on the night of June 9, while the boy was sleeping in the open, just next to George's cot.

"The crime branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) has been entrusted with the probe and has been asked to complete it within a month's time," Arun said.

He said it was for the CID to find out if it was district Superintendent of Police Chandrika Rai who gave permission for Ekka to be subjected to third degree methods. Rai has merely been transferred for 'dereliction of duty' while the sub-inspector, Sunil Sharma, and a constable who took Ekka to the police lines for questioning have been suspended and put behind bars.

A senior police official who had undertaken a spot assessment of the entire case agreed that the cops had gone beyond their brief. He does not rule out the use of third-degree methods by the suspended sub-inspector, who was apparently trying to impress the district SP.

There is speculation about what actually led to Ekka's death. Sharma had been suspended on the second day after the priest's murder following persistent demand for 'action' by various Christian organisations and political parties. Rai had promised to bale Sharma out if he solved the case quickly.

But another theory doing the rounds in police circles is that Sharma was trying to kill two birds with one stone - get a doctored statement from Ekka that could twist the case in another direction and save his own skin in the bargain.

Whatever, there is no disputing that the poor cook was subjected to physical torture which eventually led to his death.

RELATED REPORT: Cops arrested for death of witness

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