New Delhi: In a virtual admission on misleading a court, a hostile eye-witness in the Phoolan Devi murder case today told a sessions judge here that he had deposed falsely earlier.

"I have given wrong statement by mistake," Kalicharan, personal assistant of the slain bandit-turned MP, said to Additional Sessions Judge V K Bansal on being confronted with his two diametrically opposite statements given earlier in court. Kalicharan, accused of flip flop in court, today found himself on the wrong foot after special public prosecutor pointed to anomalies in his statements.

During his testimony two years ago, Kalicharan had claimed in court that he along with Uma Kashyap and Balender, the personal security officer (PSO) of the MP who had also received bullet injuries in the incident, taken Phoolan to hospital from her 44, Ashoka residence here after she was shot at July 25 in 2001.

Later, Kalicharan said Uma Kashyap had stayed back at the residence of the slain MP as she did not accompany the leader to the hospital. Asking the witness to give specific answers in view of his two different statements, the judge angrily said "How can you depose falsely that too in court?". To this, the witness admitted making wrong statement and sought certain additions in the court records claiming that his earlier statement was made under police pressure.

He was also confronted by the prosecution on his differing statements on the movement of prime accused Sher Singh Rana just before the incident.

Source : PTI