Acquittals in high society murder put Indian justice in dock

INDIA: It was a bar-room murder that took place in front of scores of New Delhi's high society and there was no shortage of witnesses.

But after a seven-year trial, the judge dismissed last week the nine accused in the 1999 shooting of 32-year-old model Jessica Lal for lack of evidence.

The verdict caused a public outcry and Home Minister Shivraj Patil responded this week by promising the government "will go to the very root and find out who is really responsible" for Lal's death.

His pledge came after charges in parliament of collusion involving the rich and powerful to cover up evidence and to shield the accused, heated newspaper editorials and SMS text campaigns by top news organisations calling for the case to be reopened.

The raven-haired model was shot at close range in a trendy nightspot packed with the high-powered and well-connected - designers, business people and the brat pack offspring of New Delhi's "best families."

"The shooting took place in front of a room full of people. There were many people who saw it," Supreme Court lawyer Aryama Sundaram told AFP. "It (the case) was mishandled."

The prosecution alleged the main accused, Manu Sharma, shot Lal after she refused him a drink at the invitation-only restaurant owned by Bina Ramani, a designer and party circuit regular.

Sharma, son of an influential politician belonging to India's ruling Congress party, denied the charge, saying he arrived after the killing of Lal who was bar-tending as a favour to the owner. Friends of Sharma were charged with harbouring him or helping to destroy evidence. They also pleaded not guilty.

Legal experts said police botched the investigation and the acquittal came after a string of witnesses testifying for the prosecution changed their stories and turned "hostile."

Opposition MPs said in parliament Congress was shielding the main accused because he is the son of a party politician.

"Who killed Jessica Lal, who fired the bullet?" said A.B. Bardhan, general secretary of the Communist Party of India which props up the Congress government in parliament.

"The verdict has raised questions about the effective functioning of our judicial system."

Now, a High Court has issued a "public interest" notice to police to reply within a month to newspaper allegations of evidence tampering - that bloodstains were wiped up and bullets went missing - and witness intimidation.

NEW DELHI, Friday AFP