PATNA: "Yehi Munna Shukla hai, isee ne Brij Bihari Prasad ko goli maree thi IGIMS campus mein," thus deposed Parasnath Chaudhary, an eyewitness in the case of the murder of the state science and technology minister, before a district court here on Tuesday.
Former MLA Shukla was present in the court of the additional district and sessions judge-9 when CBI counsel Rakesh Kumar examined Chaudhary. For, only a few days back Justice M L Visa of the Patna High Court had rejected Shukla's plea to exempt him from appearance during the trial in the murder case in the sessions court. Justice Visa had earlier granted bail to Shukla.
Chaudhary, who is the late Prasad's brother-in-law, said Prasad was shot dead by Shukla and Mantu Tiwari on June 13, 1998. Prasad was undergoing treatment at IGIMS and on the fateful day, his bodyguard Ram Niranjan Chaudhary had asked him to take a stroll on the hospital premises.
Prasad along with his bodyguard and the latter's two friends had come out of the hospital ward and walked for about 150 yards when Ram Niranjan and his men vanished, the eyewitness said, adding there then appeared a Sumo vehicle and an Ambassador car.
The eyewitness further told the court that Munna Shukla and Satish Pandey carrying small guns (revolver) got down from the Ambassador while Bhupendra Dubey, a former MLA from Motihari, and Mantu Tiwari, who were also armed, came out of the Sumo. Mantu carried a large gun and they all fired at Prasad, killing him on the spot, he added.
