New Delhi: In a blow to prosecution in the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case, a vital witness against prime accused senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer R K Sharma on September 22 turned hostile, contradicting his own statement made before a magistrate in October 2002.

Suresh Kumar Kukreja, a family friend of Sharma, who had earlier "admitted" that he had given his mobile phone bearing number 98220-28128 to R K Sharma during the latter's stay in Pune in January 1999, on September 22 denied that he had given it to the senior IPS officer.

"I never gave my mobile to R K Sharma at any point of time," Kukreja told additional sessions judge J M Malik, adding he had made the earlier statement under pressure.

He indicated that he had only parroted before the magistrate what the police had tutored him to do.

According to the prosecution, Sharma had used this phone, which was borrowed from Kukreja to keep in touch with the co-accused in the case.

Kukreja's version is in sharp contrast to what he stated before a magistrate in October 2002 while recording his statement under Section 164, Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

PTI