Ajay Katara accuses ‘protectors’ of trying to eliminate him

He made this comment after the Additional Sessions Judge J R Aryan,on Monday,deferred for the fourth time in the last week an order on Ajay’s petition seeking appropriate action against D P Yadav,BSP leader,Fateh Bahadur,former Principal Home Secretary of Uttar Pradesh,Raghuvir Lal,Ghaziabad SSP,and D K Chaudhary,Badaun SSP,for “harassing and attempting to eliminate” him. Kaushik Dey,the counsel for Ajay Katara,said,“We want the court to hand over the responsibility of his protection to the Delhi Legal Services Authority,as per guidelines issued by the Delhi High Court.”

Aravind,a relative of Ajay,said,“D P Yadav belongs to the BSP,which is in power in Uttar Pradesh. The state police,who are in charge of Ajay’s protection,are hand-in-glove with the officials named in the petition.”

Ajay,as an independent prosecution witness,had testified in May 2003 that he had last seen the victim,Nitish Katara,in the company of Vikas Yadav,his cousin Vishal Yadav and their associate Sukhdev Yadav on the night of February 16,2002. A Delhi court,on May 28,2008,sentenced Vikas and Vishal to life imprisonment for killing Nitish,a business executive,since they objected to his relationship with their sister,Bharti Yadav. An appeal against the sentence is now pending in the Delhi High Court.

A Delhi court,in July 2003,had said that the then DGP of UP was responsible for Ajay’s security and ordered him to ensure that no harm was caused to him. However,Ajay’s petition alleges that on July 6,2009,the then UP Home Secretary Fateh Bahadur had ordered Raghuvir Lal,Ghaziabad SSP,to withdraw four gunners from Ajay’s security cover.

Raghuvir Lal denies the allegation. “The records clearly show that I assumed charge of Ghaziabad SSP only in February 2010. How,then,could I minimise his security in July last year?” Lal asked.

Ajay’s petition also accused D P Yadav and his henchmen of attempting to kill him by attacking him several times,and filing at least 10 false cases against him ever since he testified in the murder case.

In response,Yadav said,“Ajay Katara was a witness planted by the Delhi Police. He does not need police protection because he’s a well-to-do businessman. How can he accuse me of torturing him when I have not even seen him?”

Chaudhary,for his part,said,“I have been in the police force for decades now,and no such allegation has ever been levelled against me. Whoever this witness is,he’s lying.”