Morung Express News Dimapur | May 2 Following two deferred court hearings, proceedings for the June 2016 fuel adulteration case resumed on May 2. Two prosecution witnesses deposed before the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Dimapur. Five accused named in the charge-sheet filed by the Special Investigation Team were also present at the hearing today. Today’s was the second witness examination since the charges were framed in November 2016. Trial began subsequently with the first cross examination of witnesses occurring in December 2016. Following this however, hearings had to be rescheduled twice – once in February owing to the ULB election related bandh and the second in March due to the pen-down strike called by state government employees. The Public Prosecutor (PP) handling the case informed that today’s hearing was in connection to the case filed at Diphupar Police Station. The next date of hearing for this case has been fixed for May 23. Two complaints were lodged separately at West PS and Diphupar PS after the ACAUT exposed suspected fuel adulteration sites in Dimapur in June 2016. It was followed with the state government instituting an SIT to probe the case, the latter completing the investigation and submitting charge-sheet at the court of the CJM in October 2016. Another hearing (cross examination of witnesses) is scheduled for May 3 wherein witnesses in connection to the West Police Station case will depose before the court. The PP said that a total of 42 prosecution witnesses have been lined up to depose before the court as the hearings proceed. “If the witnesses turn up as summoned, I think we can wrap up the (cross) examination phase by the end of the year,” the PP said.
