Sankaran, a former Crime Branch head constable told the CBI Special Court hearing Sister Abhaya's case that he did not handover the material evidence to the Sub Division Magistrate Court, Kottayam.
Samuel, a former Crime Branch DySP had told the CBI in 2014 that the material evidence was returned to the SDM court via Sankaran. It was Samuel (who is no more) who had submitted the closure report of Abhaya case in 1993 at SDM Court, Kottayam terming it a suicide.
The evidence included sister Abhaya's veil, slippers and a water bottle. The evidence was taken back from the court following the Crime Branch taking over the case.
They were collected from the scene of death and first handed over to the SDM court by the local police.
Sankaran told the court that Samuel never assigned him the task of handing the evidence back to the SDM court. Sankaran also said that he was not even asked to record this in the case diary.
Sankaran's statement would strengthen the stand of the prosecution that the material evidence that was crucial in the case have been destroyed to help the accused.
The CBI argument was that the materials were destroyed by the Crime Branch officials and not returned to the court.
The CBI had found that the personal diary of Abhaya was also missing and their argument is that the diary was destroyed while it was in the strong room of the SDM court.
Sister Abhaya was a 19-year-old nun residing at the Pius X convent in Kottayam, when she was found dead on the morning of March 27, 1992. Her body was found in a well within the convent compound, and at that time, the local police and Crime Branch called it a suicide. Finally, in 2008, a chargesheet was filed by the CBI– and it named two priests and a nun as accused in the murder of Sister Abhaya: Father Thomas M Kottoor, Father Jose Poothrikkayil, and Sister Stephy.
The prosecution also produced Raju Namboodiri, a former lower division clerk of SDM court to narrate the procedures to be followed while taking over the possession of material evidence from the police.
Tuesday was the second day of witness examination of the case in its second phase. The first phase of witness examination was done in September.