2017 attempt to murder case: Ambala court acquits ex-VP of Cantt Board, 10 others

Stating that the prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond shadow of reasonable doubt, an Ambala court on Tuesday acquitted former vice-president (VP) of Cantonment Board and BJP leader Surinder Tiwari and 10 others in a 2017 case of attempted murder on then BJP councilor Ajay Baweja

Stating that the prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond shadow of reasonable doubt, an Ambala court on Tuesday acquitted former vice-president (VP) of Cantonment Board and BJP leader Surinder Tiwari and 10 others in a 2017 case of attempted murder on then BJP councilor Ajay Baweja.

The men who were acquitted in the attempt to murder case in Ambala on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

The others who were acquitted are Garry Malhotra, Rahul alias Veeru, Manharsh, Ramphal alias Rajesh, Abhinav, Nikhil, Raman alias Chhitha, Rohit alias Gatbad, Gaurav and Satbir Singh.

As per the case files, Baweja, incumbent vice-president of the board, was attacked at his marriage palace office on Staff Road by five men on April 8, 2017. Later, police found that the attack was planned by Tiwari and others due to an enmity over political interference in a land dispute. Following the attack, Tiwari along with seven other men were arrested on April 13, 2017, and weapons were recovered.

As per the detailed judgment made available on Wednesday, the court said that all five independent witnesses in the case had been declared hostile and they categorically denied to identify the accused.

“The complainant, Ajay Baweja, also specifically deposed that the accused persons present in the court are not the ones who attacked him,” the court of additional sessions judge Sundeep Singh said.

The court also observed that there were several discrepancies in the prosecution’s case, including no test identification parade of the accused, no special identification mark on the recovered iron pipes (recovered as weapons) and no documents or bill pertaining to the CCTV footage.

“These material discrepancies create a doubt on the genuineness of recovery of alleged weapons from the accused. Further, another prosecution witness and investigating officer in the case, during his cross-examination, deposed that no independent witness was joined at the time recording disclosure statements, recoveries and demarcations. No explanation has been given for the said lapse,” the order read.

The defendants were represented by advocates Anil Kaushik, Maan Singh Kakran and Manish Kashyap.

Following the attack, Tiwari, a government contractor, was expelled from the party and thus had to lose the post. Months later, after getting bail, he started his verbal attacks on local MLA and current home minister Anil Vij. He later joined Congress under former minister Nirmal Singh.

In 2018, Baweja was elected as vice-president and in 2020, Tiwari returned to the Saffron Party fold. After much efforts, both joined hands in the presence of Vij in March 2021.