Irked over the delayed appearance of eight accused in the Manjunath murder case, District and Sessions Judge SMA Abidi today showcaused the Kheri district jail superintendent.

“The accused could not be brought (to court) on time. The showcause notice to the jail superintendent asked him to explain the reason behind this delay,” public prosecutor Chandra Mohan Singh said later. “The jail superintendent will be present in court on September 5 to give his reply.”

The accused were brought to court at 12.10 pm, after which the day’s proceedings began with the deposition of police constable Krishna Mohan Mishra. “He was present when most of the articles, including the main accused Monu Mittal’s pistol were recovered,” said Singh.

Stating that Lalla Giri, one of the accused, was arrested on November 22 last year, Mishra said that Giri was taken to Mittal Automobiles, the petrol pump from where they “seized the used cartridges”. Mishra said the police arrested four other accused — the petrol pump owner’s son Monu Mittal, Rajesh Verma, Sanjay and Harish — near Gola railway crossing the same day.

Mishra said Monu carried a pistol, while Rajesh had a revolver at the time of arrest. Later, a police team recovered Monu’s rifle from Rajesh’s house. Mishra also informed the court that on November 23, Monu was taken to Punarbhu jungle from where they recovered the latter’s vehicle. The constable said he was also present when they seized the main accused’s bloodstained clothes.

The next hearing of the case is on September 21.

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