Poonam Mahajan breaks down in court

TNN / Oct 16, 2007, 00:37 IST

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Poonam Mahajan, the daughter of slain BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, broke down while giving evidence in a sessions court during the trial of her father's alleged killer.

MUMBAI: Poonam Mahajan, the daughter of slain BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, broke down while giving evidence in a sessions court during the trial of her father's alleged killer on Monday.
Pointing to Mahajan's younger brother Pravin, the accused who was standing in the dock, she said, "This man has left me orphaned and I want justice from this court.''
Earlier, Poonam told judge Srihari Daware that on the morning of the murder, her husband Anand Rao got a call from Mahajan's servant Mahesh Wankhede saying he had been shot. Poonam said she then rushed to Poorna in Worli, where her parents stayed, and saw Mahajan bleeding.
Poonam told special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam that the family rushed Mahajan to Hinduja Hospital. She said soon afterwards she took her father's belongings—which included his cellphone—from his house and kept them in a bag.

Poonam said she remembered the belongings a year later when her mother Rekha called her saying the police were asking about Mahajan's cell. Poonam added that on April 15, 2007, she switched on the phone—before handing it over to the police—and realised that there was a message in it. She said the message was sent a year ago by Pravin. It was a threat to Mahajan. The prosecution has been arguing that the motive behind Mahajan's murder was money as Pravin had demanded Rs 1 crore from him.
Poonam told defence advocate Harshad Ponda that when her statement was recorded two days after the murder, she made no mention of the mobile. Poonam also said she never felt the need to check for messages and calls until the police came looking for it.
Ponda asked Poonam if she was aware of a software that allowed people to fabricate an SMS and send it to a mobile. In reply, the woman said she knew little about computers other than surfing the internet.

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