Remand extended in Vadtal case

Presenting the CBI case, counsel D K Pande said that Bureau investigations had revealed that certain others, too, were also involved in the Gadadharnand kidnap-and-murder conspiracy. Shastry and Bhagat needed to be interrogated further to bring relevant evidence to light, he said, adding that the probe would be affected otherwise.

Pande declined to present evidence unearthed so far in the case on thegrounds that it would hamper investigations.

Jayesh Talati, counsel for Shastry and Bhagat, pleaded that since the CBI had not produced any concrete evidence against the two, or made any discoveries or recoveries, there was no need to extend remand.

Significantly, the CBI has named sect head Acharya Shree Ajendra Prasad while briefing the court about the case. It said that it was Prasad who had called up Gadadharnand from Nashik on April 21, 1998, instructing the latter not to transfer the temple kotharis if he didn’t want the sect head to go on a fast.

Well-placed sources in the CBI said the court had also been apprised of the “differences” the two had on the issue.

Earlier, in the afternoon, tension gripped the court premises as the news of the impending arrival of the accused and the CBI team spread. Several nasty remarks emerged from the 500-strong crowd as the accused descended from their vehicle, so much so that no one — not even journalists — were allowed close to them.

Interestingly, nota single follower of the sect was present, though complainant Jatin, who had lodged an First Information Report against the accused, and a large number of Vadtal villagers were.

In separate conversations with The Indian Express, CBI sources, Vadtal sarpanch Raman Parmar, Jatin Bhagat, Gadadharnand’s nephew Kapil and Swami Prabhutanand and several senior citizens from nearby areas confided that all the probe had revealed till now was only the tip of the iceberg.

Meanwhile, CBI sources confirmed that sect head Acharya Shree Ajendra Prasad had been questioned for a couple of hours on Monday, though he was not arrested. At Vadtal, his son Lalji Maharaj insisted he did not know his father’s whereabouts.