Malik has said that he has decided not to contest the trial proceedings.
Instead, he has requested capital punishment for himself while maintaining that he is innocent and has been “falsely implicated” in the case more than three decades after the murder.
It finds no support from the contemporaneous record or the conduct of the investigating agencies during the relevant period,” Yasin said in his affidavit.
He added that he got to know of Bhat’s murder months after the incident.
“I respectfully state that I first came to know of the murder of Ms. Sarla Bhat on 21 February 1991, while I was in judicial custody.
Malik has said that he has decided not to contest the trial proceedings. Instead, he has requested capital punishment for himself while maintaining that he is innocent and has been “falsely implicated” in the case more than three decades after the murder.
“The prosecution's present narrative resembles a fictional story rather than a genuine criminal investigation, carefully woven together after several decades solely with the object of falsely implicating me in the present case. It finds no support from the contemporaneous record or the conduct of the investigating agencies during the relevant period,” Yasin said in his affidavit.
He added that he got to know of Bhat’s murder months after the incident.
“I respectfully state that I first came to know of the murder of Ms. Sarla Bhat on 21 February 1991, while I was in judicial custody. Prior to that date, I had neither heard of her nor was I aware of the incident relating to her death,” the affidavit stated.
