CBI seeks charge of more Shah cases
The CBI in its latest status report to the Supreme Court on the politically sensitive Sohrabuddin “fake encounter” case has linked former Gujarat minister Amit Shah to Tulsiram Prajapati “fake encounter,” alleging that he was also killed to destroy the crucial evidence.
While accusing Mr Shah of indulging in a series of “illegal acts to save his skin” in the Soahrabuddind fake encounter case, in which he is a chargesheeted accused, the CBI sought the SC direction to Gujarat government to hand over the probe into the Prajapati case to the agency as both the cases were interlinked and needed joint trial.
Besides, the CBI sought handing over of three other cases — fake escape form the police escort registered with Ahmedabad Railway Police in 2004, Ambaji fake encounter and Navarangpura stage managed firing — to it to “unravel” the larger conspiracy behind the abduction and killing of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kasaurb Bi in November 2005.
At the same time, the CBI’s report filed in the “sealed cover” to the Supreme Court on Thursday, stated that due to the involvement of Shah and several top IPS officers in the two fake encounters, fair trail was not possible in Gujarat, hence it be shifted outside the state, preferably to Mumbai.
If the case of Tulsiram — a companion of Sohrabuddin — was not handed over to the CBI it might lead to “estoppels or res judicata (obstruction and denial of justice)” against the prosecution,” CBI claimed.
In a bid to make a “fool-proof” case against Shah for cancellation of his bail, the agency alleged that Mr Shah even after his dismissal from the Narendra Modi government, had indulged with senior IPS officer Abhay Chudasma in a “conspiracy” to “destroy crucial” evidence with the help of some “other officers” of state police, who worked under Mr Shah.
During his judicial custody in Sabarmati jail, Mr Shah virtually had made the prison his “den” and as the jail authorities allowed BJP workers, his followers and supporters, the police officers who worked under his command, his kith and kin “freely” to meet him in violation of jail manual.
So far as Mr Shah’s role in Sohrabuddin encounter case was concerned, the CBI alleged that the investigation has revealed that he gave “illegal instructions” related to investigation in the case and changed and transferred those officers, who did not fall in line.
He made every attempt to “change the case papers” to remove names of IPS officers D.G. Vanzara and R.K. Pandiyan from the Sohrabuddin case.
A bench of Justices Aftab Alam and R.M. Lodha on Thursday fixed detailed hearing on CBI report for December 14.
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