Chandigarh, Aug 19, 2004
IANS
The turnaround by Maninderpal Singh Kohli, prime accused
in the rape and murder of a British schoolgirl, who now says that his
confession before TV was not "of his own will" has left top
Punjab Police officials red-faced.
"It is definitely embarrassing. Even though his
confession was recorded by TV crews, he could say that it was made under
duress," said a senior official.
Human rights lawyer Arvind Thakur said Kohli -- who
had been arrested from a West Bengal town last month for the murder
of Hannah Claire Foster in Southampton, Britain, in March last year
-- had claimed innocence in the rape and murder case and wanted to defend
himself.
His sensational confession that he had "abducted,
raped and later strangled" Foster was made before a TV news channel
in July in the presence of Punjab Police chief Sumedh Singh Saini and
other senior officials investigating his case.
But he has now told his lawyers: "The statement
before TV channels was not made out of my free will."
Kohli was Wednesday sent to judicial custody by a court
here till Aug 25. He is contesting his extradition to Britain to face
rape and murder charges.
In his confession that was aired by other TV channels
and carried in Indian newspapers, Kohli had even mentioned Saini and
other officials for helping him own up to the crime.
In the statement, just hours after he came into Punjab
Police custody after being handed over by the West Bengal Police in
Kalimpong town, he described how he abducted Hannah and strangled her
to death after raping her.
Leading lawyers had said earlier that the statement,
even if recorded by TV cameras, was no good in law unless it was made
before a magistrate.
The "confession" was not printed or shown
by British media as police had said it would affect his case under law.
British police is reported to be preparing documents
to seek Kohli's extradition to Britain to face trial there.
The extradition process would be carried out through
Interpol, which had sounded a worldwide alert for his arrest after he
fled from Britain four days after Hannah's
Kohli is presently lodged at Burail jail here after
a court in Kharar town, 15 km from here, handed over his custody to
the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A court in Kalimpong had given his custody to the Punjab
Police as he was wanted in a case of forgery and cheating here.
However, he was released from the case, pertaining to
getting a forged Indian passport made through travel agents here, after
police told a court that that it did not have much evidence against
him.