CORRESPONDENT
SHILLONG: A clerical error during the time of arrest of Sonam Raghuvanshi, the prime accused in the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi, would not weaken the prosecution's case or affect the ongoing trial, East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said while asserting that the accused had been fully informed about the murder charges throughout the legal proceedings.
Clarifying the circumstances surrounding the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, Syiem said the discrepancy arose due to an incorrect mention of the legal provision under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) but maintained that the charge of murder had been clearly communicated to the accused during every stage of the remand and production process.
"The person was given bail on the ground that due to clerical error, the number of section was changed from 103 to 403," Syiem said, adding, "There is no 403 in the BNS."
He disputed the court's finding that the grounds of arrest were not properly explained to the accused and said the police had followed due procedure during both the transit remand proceedings in Ghazipur and subsequent production before the magistrate in Shillong.
"It is not that the grounds of arrest were not made to be understood," he said. "When the transit remand was made also, the ground of arrest was given to the accused to understand. During production also the grounds of arrest were given to understand, and the accused understood that she was arrested for murder."
"The court has taken a different stand and given an order that grounds of arrest were not made to be understood by the accused," the SP said, adding, "We have appealed for that."
Maintaining that the prosecution's case remained strong, Syiem said the investigation had already been completed and sufficient evidence had been gathered against the accused.
"It does not mean that there will be any difference in the trial and the chargesheet is there," he said. "We have enough evidence against the accused. Bail does not in any way dilute the outcome of the trial."
The police officer further said that the murder charge had been explicitly conveyed to Raghuvanshi during proceedings before the magistrate in Uttar Pradesh as well as before the production magistrate in Shillong.
"She was produced in Ghazipur before a magistrate out there, and we got transit remand from there based on the section of murder," Syiem said.
"When she was produced again out here before the production magistrate, also, she was given to understand that the offence committed was murder."
Also read: No Family Visit, No Remorse: Sonam Raghuvanshi's One Month in Prison