Thiruvananthapuram: A petty thief, Raju alias Adakka Raju, has provided clinching evidence against Fr Thomas Kottoor in the Sr. Abhaya murder case. Raju, the main witness in the case, identified Fr Thomas Kottoor in the CBI special court here on Thursday and said he had seen him entering the convent by climbing the stairs on the backside of the St Pious X convent, Kottayam, on the fateful night of March 26, 1992.
Raju had entered the convent to steal copper plates from the terrace and saw two men standing on the terrace holding a torch and keeping a tab on the nearby area.
Raju had earlier given a statement to the CBI and the magistrate that he had seen two persons in the convent at night. He told the prosecutor that he identified them from the television and newspapers after they were arrested by the CBI.
He also said that he was offered a bribe of `2 lakh by the Crime Branch officials to testify in support of the accused and accept that he had committed the crime. They also offered a job to his relatives.
Fr Jose Poothrikkayil, the second accused, has already been discharged by the CBI court due to lack of proper evidence.
Raju admitted to the defence lawyer that he had several criminal cases against him. His wife had tried to commit suicide after he eloped with his friend’s wife, he said.
Raju (witness No. 5) and Sanju Mathew (4) are the only two people who saw the duo entering the convent premises. Sanju had earlier turned hostile and said that he gave the statement under CBI pressure. As per his statement, he had seen the scooter of Fr Thomas Kottoor under suspicious circumstances.
However, Sanju stated in the court that he did not see such a scooter and did not know which type of scooter Fr Thomas Kottoor was using. With this, the court declared Sanju a hostile witness on the request of the CBI.
The trial against the first accused Fr Thomas Kottoor and the third accused Sr Sephy is proceeding in the CBI special court here with a total of 177 witnesses.
The court had earlier acquitted Crime Branch retired SP K.T. Michel also in the case.
