High court to hear case into murder of Kesri's physician on Friday

Syed Firdaus Ashraf in New Delhi

Sitaram Kesri has before him on Friday a case regarding the mysterious murder of his personal physician, Dr S K Tanwar.

Dr Tanwar was murdered in October 1993. He and his wife were close friends of Kesri. Following a public interest litigation, the Delhi high court had directed the Delhi police to submit an update on the investigations.

The Delhi police, it is learnt, is planning to hand the high court an affidavit on Friday, seeking that the probe into Dr Tanwar's murder be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The Delhi police had prepared a final report on Dr Tanwar's case when the Congress was in power earlier, but the case only saw the light of day after Congress leader Rajesh Pilot, a sworn enemy of Kesri, said the case should be investigated.

If the CBI takes over the case, it will be the second case concerning Kesri that the agency will handle. The earlier case against the Congress president involved the alleged accumulation of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. This week, Kesri was also named in the Rs 35 million Jharkand Mukti Morcha MPs bribery case.

One of the accused in that case, Shailendra Mahato, claimed that Kesri, then the Congress treasurer, had personally assured the JMM leaders in July 1993 that they would get whatever they had been promised in exchange of voting in favour of the Congress government which was then seeking support.

Kesri reportedly told them that whatever has been discussed with then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao will be fulfilled.

But Congressmen are standing by Kesri. Former Congress minister N K P Salve told Rediff On The NeT, "At times of crisis, the Congress party has always stood together. By remaining united we have proved to the United Front that there will be no split in the Congress. Why should we abandon Kesri just because a court case is pending against him?" he asked.

Pilot refused to comment on the Tanwar case, but said he would not challenge Kesri's position.

"We had decided at the Congress Working Committee meeting that whatever decision taken by the president of the Congress party, other members will follow suit," he said. "So, there is no questioning of his leadership as such."