Panchkula, Dec. 12 -- The special CBI court in Panchkula was unable to examine the prime witness in the murder case of former MLA and INLD leader Nafe Singh Rathee on December 10. The witness submitted that his safety was at risk, as the security-a single armed gunman-was provided only for his court appearance. He emphasised that there is no guarantee of his safety once his deposition is complete and that he and his family remain under continuous threat from the accused persons. The witness drew a contrast between his situation and that of the deceased's family, who have been granted extensive, round-the-clock security with 10-15 armed police personnel. He argued that as the key witness, he too requires adequate security that extends beyond the hearing date, lasting until the threat perception ends. Stating he was not in the proper frame of mind to testify, he requested to be discharged for the day, affirming his commitment to eventually depose. The CBI counsel informed the court that they had no objection to postponing the testimony. This is the second time the witness's examination has been deferred due to security fears; the court had previously referred the matter to the competent authority (standing committee) under the Haryana Witness Protection Scheme on November 6. During the fresh hearing, the court was told that a Standing Committee meeting on November 18 approved the deployment of a single gunman for both the witness and his brother, only for their appearances in the Panchkula court. The witness's brother has already been examined. In light of the witness's renewed and specific concerns, the court ordered the matter to be put before the Standing Committee once more. The court requested the committee to take the mentioned facts into consideration and, crucially, to clarify whether the security cover is limited solely to the date of appearance or will continue for a sufficient number of days after the deposition is recorded. The court discharged the witness for December 10, stating he will be summoned again after the decision of the Standing Committee is received. The case was adjourned to January 7 for the evidence of the prosecution, with orders for two other witnesses to be summoned. One of these, a doctor, will provide testimony via video conferencing. The four arrested accused-Ashish alias Baba, Sachin alias Sourav, Dharmender, and Amit Gulia-were produced via VC. The CBI also submitted a status report concerning the open-dated arrest warrants against the four absconding accused: Kapil Sangwan alias Nandu, Nakul Sangwan, Atul Gulia, and Khushpreet Lather. Charges against the four arrested persons were framed by the CBI court in September, while the other four remain proclaimed offenders. The case relates to the shooting of Rathee, the former Haryana INLD chief, and his party worker Jai Kishan in Bahadurgarh on February 25, 2024. The probe was initially with Jhajjar police before being transferred to CBI on May 1, 2024....