A cutlery shop owner from Miraj Amir Pasha Sayyad was also examined in the court today.

During his examination by special public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam, Lalwani said that at around 7.30 p.m. he saw two youths halting a girl riding her cycle who later tried to run away. The youths chased her and stabbed her repeatedly, he said.

Lalwani said that he later contacted the police from a nearby telephone booth. Sometime later, a man and a woman who he later learnt were Amruta's parents, arrived on a scooter at the site, Lalwani said. The police later shifted Amruta to the hospital, Lalwani added. He refuted defence councel J J Bardekar's suggestion that he was giving untrue testimony at the instance of the police.

The cutlery shop owner said that on August 1, Baban and Mukund Shinde had purchased a knife.