E-Paper
Fresh developments in Hannah Foster murder case
Court will consider fresh evidence against the India-born Kohli who murdered Foster.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed a subordinate court to take note of the additional evidence submitted by the government against Indian-born Maninder Singh Kohli to face trial in Britain for alleged rape and murder of teenager Hannah Foster in 2003.
With the additional direction to expedite the trial, Justice Reva Khetrapal said the trial court was at liberty to take cognisance of the logbook of a van reportedly driven by Kohli on the night of March 14, 2003 - when Foster was murdered in Southampton - as supporting evidence for his extradition to Britain.
The parents of the murdered teenager were in India for the third time last month to expedite Kohli's extradition.
Kohli is currently lodged in Tihar jail here.
As Britain's prosecuting agency, the Crown Prosecution, submitted to the trial court the logbook, Kohli's counsel Charanjit Singh contested that the photocopy of the page of the logbook did not show the date. He contended that his client did not drive the van on the day.
The Crown Prosecutor of England had subsequently sent a photocopy of the logbook with the date visible on it, but the lower court again did not take cognisance of it.
This prompted the government to approach the high court for a suitable direction to the lower court.
Kohli had allegedly fled England on March 16, 2003, two days after the 17-year-old's body was found. He was brought here from Chandigarh where he was lodged after his arrest on July 15, 2004 from Kalimpong in West Bengal.
