‘Mane spoke to kin for 144 seconds after killing spree’

Defence argument begins today.

Arguing before an additional sessions judge, the prosecution claimed on Thursday that bus driver Santosh Mane was not suffering from any mental illness when he went on a rampage, killing nine people and injuring many on a busy Pune road last year.

Government pleader Ujjwala Pawar also submitted call records that showed Mane, a former driver with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) and resident of Barshi in Solapur district, spoke with his family member for 144 seconds after his killing spree.

The defence lawyer will begin his arguments in the case on Friday. The trial is going on in the court of Additional Sessions Judge V K Shewale. Advocate Dhananjay Mane is representing the accused.

Pawar said: "After his arrest, Mane told the police that he had been assaulted by people. It shows that his mental condition was sound at the time of the incident on January 25 last year. A day before the incident, he drove a passenger bus from Ganagapur to Pune. But on the very next day, he went on a killing spree. He wanted to create terror in the minds of people."

The public prosecutor also said the testimony of Dilip Burte, a Solapur-based psychiatrist who reportedly treated Mane for mental ailment, could not be relied upon as the doctor didn't maintain the records properly.

"The doctor did not maintain proper records of Mane's treatment. If a person is suffering from any manic disease, he is kept under observation for eight days. However, Dr Burte did not do this in case of Mane."

The prosecution argued that Mane behaved like a normal person while in police custody. "After his arrest, Mane was taken to the police commissioner's office. He spoke normally with his family members on phone for 144 seconds. Mane was also kept under observation at the Regional Mental Hospital in Yerawada, and doctors there have reported that he was behaving like a normal person. He maintained eye-to-eye contact and was conscious, hence medical insanity is not proved," Pawar argued.

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