Court issues summons to Kohli’s wife and brother

A court here today issued summons to the wife and brother of Maninder Kohli, accused in the Hannah Foster murder case, to appear and depose ...

A court here today issued summons to the wife and brother of Maninder Kohli, accused in the Hannah Foster murder case, to appear and depose as defence witnesses.

The two were among the 10 witnesses whom Kohli had mentioned in a petition he had filed earlier in court, requesting permission of the court to cross-examine them. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravinder Dudeja today summoned Ishtpreet Singh, Kohli’s brother, to depose on July 25, while Shalinder Kaur, Kohli’s UK-based wife, has been summoned to depose on August 1.

The summons come in the heels of Shalinder Kaur retracting her earlier statement to the British police, which had swung the needle of suspicion at Kohli’s involvement in the crime. In a hearing on June 4, Shalinder Kaur had submitted an application declaring that her earlier statement to the British police had been given ‘‘under threat and coercion’’. She then returned to the UK, failing to appear in court here today despite summons issued on July 4. In the event, the court directed the External Affairs Ministry to deliver a fresh summons for her to appear on August 1.