Zaheera denies pay-off charge, says she won’t lie under oath

‘‘I never demanded money from anyone. Yeh sab aarop galat hai (all these allegations are false). I don’t even know him (BJP MLA Madhu Srivastav who’s claiming she was paid off),’’ Zaheera told reporters outside the court.

She alleged that this was a ‘‘conspiracy’’ against her by Teesta Setalvad and Congress councillor Chandrakant Srivastav ‘Bhattoo’ (Madhu Srivastav’s cousin).

At the end of today’s trial session, special public prosecutor Manjula Rao turned to Zaheera and said: ‘‘You have been giving false evidence in the court because you have been promised Rs 35 lakh, you have already been given Rs 18 lakh.’’

Rao asked her to look at her while replying—Zaheera had been turning to the judge while responding to Rao’s queries— but she maintained: ‘‘Even after death, one has to face Allah.’’

Judge Abhay Thipsay then repeated the question to her, reminding her that she was saying various things but not directly answering the question. But Zaheera told the court that she would have to be told, ‘‘who has promised (the money)?’’

Earlier, the judge also told Zaheera not to waste the court’s time: ‘‘Aap faltu jawab de rahi hain.’’ He gave her time to narrate her version of events from the time of the carnage.