Desai: 'Bid to retract charge'
2004-01-22 07:24
Pretoria - Lawyer C R Hirani, the Indian legal representative of Judge Shiraj Desai, who is being held in Mumbai on a charge of rape, says an attempt is apparently being made to withdraw the charge.
There are now claims that there may be ulterior motives behind the rape charge.
Hirani says Salomé Isaacs, 26, who laid the charge against Desai in Mumbai, "may possibly have been used by her husband to get at the judge".
"There's a lot of dirty washing behind these dirty allegations. There's even an amount of money involved," said Hirani.
Pieter Coetzee, South African consul-general in Mumbai, says he's visited Desai at the Cuffe Parade police station and he's organised a mattress for the judge to sleep on to replace the piece of cardboard he's been using.
Desai is in custody while the police have seven days to complete their investigations. He will appear in the magistrate's court again on Friday.
Hirani said that Desai refused to be coerced into making a finding in a case in South Africa and now he was being falsely "framed".
Judge claims he was 'framed'
The Asian Age newspaper in Mumbai reported on Tuesday that Desai claimed he had been coerced to make a ruling in a particular way.
"Because I didn't do it, the woman's husband, Mark, is cross with me and I was framed in this manner."
Once the police's investigations have been completed, Desai may apply to a higher court for bail.
Ahmed Javed, the joint police commissioner in Mumbai, said "there's no truth in rumours that police have been withholding Desai's medicine for diabetics.
He said: "On the contrary, if he showed the smallest medical problem, we would take him directly to hospital."
It was reported earlier that Salomé Isaacs had arrived back at Johannesburg International Airport with the help of the Human Rights Foundation, which assisted in financing both her and Desai's attendance at the World Social Forum's conference in India.
The foundation says in a statement that it supports both parties and trauma counselling has been organised for Salomé Isaacs.
Her husband, Mark, said before her arrival that he was "pleased and relieved that his wife was returning," and that he wanted to discuss the matter with her "where it is quiet".
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who was on the same flight, said she met Salomé in Mumbai and that she "was emotional like one would expect a victim to be".