In a U-turn, a sweeper of a government hospital and key witness in the 26/11 trial who had claimed he disposed off the bullet-proof jacket of slain Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist Squad chief Hemant Karkare long ago, on Friday said he had no idea about the protective gear.
Dinesh Gataar, a sweeper in J J Hospital, said he had kept the jacket in a bag and placed it in a ward. He has no idea as to what had happened to the jacket.
Earlier before a magistrate, Gataar on Wednesday said he had stuffed the jacket in a bag and sent it to the dumping ground at Deonar for disposal.
His statement had been recorded by the magistrate on a complaint filed by social activist Santosh Daundkar praying for a probe into the missing jacket.
The magistrate had earlier ordered J J Marg Police to register an FIR to probe the missing jacket. A year after the incident, Gataar broke his silence and said he had disposed of the jacket.
The change in Gataar's stand that he had not personally disposed of the jacket has created a flutter with police saying they will now probe, who had discarded the vest.
