Posted by: Sarkozy August 10, 2008
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| Maoist leader’s spouse to defend Sobhraj |
| Himalayan News Service |
| Kathmandu, August 10: The wife of a top Maoist leader will defend Charles Sobhraj against the charge of murder committed more than three decades ago. Laxmi Devkota, the wife of Maoist Constituent Assembly member Khimlal Devkota, was in the court to defend Sobhraj today. However, she could not submit her arguments, as the bench was hard pressed for time. The next hearing of the case has been scheduled for August 18. “Sobhraj wants to establish cordial relations with the Maoists, who are likely to lead the new government,†one of Sobhraj’s lawyers told this daily. Sobhraj had already appointed Shakuntala Thapa, the mother of his fiancée Nihita Biswas, as his lawyer. Thapa is deemed close to Pampha Bhusal and Hisila Yami. During today’s hearing, senior advocate Basanta Ram Bhandari told the bench, comprising justices Min Bahadur Rayamajhi and Kalyan Shrestha, that Devkota would plead on behalf of Sobhraj in the next hearing. Bhandari accused the media of being biased against Sobhraj and claimed that the investigating authorities had produced forged documents before the SC. “He should not be deemed guilty based on media reports,†he added. “We lawyers are also against setting free a criminal but the media should be careful while reporting on a sub-judice case,†he said. When Justice Rayamajhi asked him to justify his charge against the investigating authorities, Bhandari said they were doing so under pressure. He claimed that International Police Organisation’s Nepal branch was behind such fabrication and had been producing fake documents. He also blamed the investigating and prosecuting agencies for trying to mislead the apex court. Another Sobhraj lawyer blamed the prosecuting agencies for citing media reports to press their case against Sobhraj. “There is neither any eyewitness nor proper evidence against him,†he added. Though the police produced Sobhraj before the SC, he could not meet his fiancée, as she had left after the hearing was adjourned. |