Verdict in India hit-and-run case

The case has attracted lots of attention during the trial (Photo: Indian Express)

A court in the Indian capital, Delhi, has found Sanjeev Nanda, the son of a wealthy arms dealer, guilty in what is known as the "BMW hit and run case".

Nanda was accused of running over and killing six people. The case has been dragging on since 1999.

During the course of the high-profile trial, several witnesses changed their testimony, amid accusations that they had been bought off.

Mr Nanda is also the grandson of a former navy chief.

Mr Nanda has been found guilty of "culpable homicide not amounting to murder" and legal experts say the maximum sentence for the offence is up to 10 years.

Sentencing is expected on Wednesday.

Three others have been convicted for destruction of evidence.

Nanda's co-accused Manik Kapoor has been acquitted in the nine-year-old case.

Changed testimony

According to reports, key witness Sunil Kulkarni was walking down the street in the early hours of 10 January, 1999 when he saw a BMW run over and kill six people in Delhi.

In a statement to the police shortly afterwards, he identified Sanjeev Nanda as the driver of the car.

But during the course of the trial, he changed his testimony several times.

He once said in court that Mr Nanda was one of the passengers in the BMW, but was not the driver.

At another time, he said he was under pressure from both the prosecution and defence to change his testimony.

During the trial most of the other main prosecution witnesses also changed their accounts.

But the case took a turn in March 2007 when the Delhi-based NDTV channel broadcast footage secretly recorded by Mr Kulkarni.

NDTV said the shaky footage showed prosecutor IU Khan in collusion with defence lawyer RK Anand.

Mr Kulkarni said the two offered him bribes to change his testimony.

Although Mr Khan and Mr Anand denied any wrongdoing, they were found guilty by the Delhi High Court last month.

The two were convicted for "obstructing the judicial process" and have been barred from practising for four months.

The "BMW hit and run case" has been compared with other high-profile cases in Delhi in the past decade in which witnesses changed their testimony, amid accusations that they had been bought off.

In one such case - the 1999 murder of model Jessica Lal - the lack of evidence led to the main accused being acquitted until a public outcry led to a retrial and the verdict being overturned.