Chouhan calls on key accused in Prof Sabharwal murder case

While cracking the whip, and despite his busy schedule, the Chief Minister, however, had enough time to meet Vimal Tomar, the former office-bearer of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), who was admitted to the ICU a couple of days ago. Tomar, along with then president of ABVP, Shashiranjan Akela, is one of the main accused in the alleged murder of Prof H S Sabharwal, who was beaten to death outside Ujjain’s Madhav College in August 2006. The ABVP activists were angry with Sabharwal, holding him responsible for cancellation of students’ elections under pressure from NSUI.

The state Government had taken time to register a case of murder against the ABVP activists, and finally did so under intense media pressure. While the trial was on, one after the other witnesses, including police constables, turned hostile. Chouhan, who was formerly all-India president of ABVP, had given a clean chit to the ABVP activists saying that the professor’s death was an accident not a murder.

He spent about 20 minutes talking to Tomar, who was admitted to the Indore hospital after complaining of chest pain. Other ABVP activists are still lodged in the Ujjain jail. In his defence, Chouhan said that he spoke to other patients as well and was only inquiring about facilities in the hospital.

Sabharwal’s son Himanshu, moved the Supreme Court praying that the trial be moved outside the state because he did not expect justice in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, as the ABVP is party’s students’ wing. He had given instances of how poorly the prosecution was arguing the case.

The apex court had issued a notice to the Government asking it to explain why the case be not moved to some other state.

Himanshu said that the CM’s visit to Tomar was ample proof of how the ruling party was conniving with the alleged culprits.