I signed affidavit under pressure

JANUARY 7: In a major setback to Mumbai Police's case, a resident of Ramabai Nagar and a witness to the desecration of Dr Ambedkar's statue ...

JANUARY 7: In a major setback to Mumbai Police8217;s case, a resident of Ramabai Nagar and a witness to the desecration of Dr Ambedkar8217;s statue on July 11, 1997, claimed that the affidavit sworn by him was false and was signed by him under pressure.

Deposing before Justice Gundewar, Rajendra Bhimrao Yashwante admitted that the affidavit contained his signatures, but said the document was prepared by the Naigaon police and that he was later forced to sign the papers at the Pant Nagar police station.

Yashwante revealed that most of the contents of his affidavit were incorrect and denied that he had seen a mob pelting stones at vehicles on the Eastern Express Highway. He also refuted a portion of the affidavit saying he had called up a fire brigade as violence broke out after the desecration.

Replying to questions by counsel for the commission, Advocate Aruna Kamat, Yashwante said that soon after the desecration, when he was in his shop at Ramabai Nagar, a police vehicle arrived at the spot and four jawans alighted. Two or three jawans marched ahead and opened fire at the people.8220;I was watching from my shop. They stopped firing after about five minutes. I then rushed home. When I returned, I saw the jawans occupying the same position and three persons lying on the ground apparently hit by police bullets,8221; Yashwante said.

When asked who prepared his affidavit, Yashwante said he could not recollect the names. While answering counsel for the police, Advocate Ujjwal Nikam, he said that he helped those who were injured in the police firing. To a question, he said he had signed on the affidavit at two places and at every place below his signature he had written the date in English. He agreed with Nikam that he signed the affidavit before a notary at Vikhroli metropolitan court. However, he denied that he submitted the affidavit to the commission on September 26 last year.

He said during investigations, the police had recorded his statement but did not remember the date when it was done. He also admitted that the statement was read out to him after it was recorded. He said there were three mistakes in the statement so he did not accept it. However, he said that he did not complain to senior police officers about this earlier.