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Jain panel witness gets threatening calls

A witness who deposed against tantrik Chandra Swami before the Jain Commission, which went into the conspiracy angle of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, today sought police security stating that he had been receiving threatening calls.

In a letter to Home Minister Lal Kishinchand Advani, Ramesh Dalal said Chandra Swami's associates had telephoned him last night and this morning threatening that he and his family would be killed in a bomb blast unless he withdrew his statement against the tantrik.

The Jain Commission had heavily relied on Dalal's statement in the assassination case.

Dalal alleged that Chandra Swami had already eliminated all evidence including Rajender Jain who was found dead a day before he was to depose before the Commission. He said Rajender Jain was murdered because the government had withdrawn personal security.

Dalal said he had also lodged a complaint with the police about the threat to him and his family.

Meanwhile, Tiruchi Velusamy, who deposed before the Commission against Janata Party president Dr Subramanian Swamy, today offered to subject himself to cross-examination by the latter in any fora.

The media statement comes in the wake of Dr Swamy's statement that the Commission's adverse mention about him in the final report, based on Velusamy's deposition, was not legal as he was not given the Section 8-B notice which was mandatory. The notice would have enabled Dr Swamy to cross-examine Velusamy before the Commission.

UNI

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