After the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case was transferred to CBI by the Supreme Court, the Gujarat minister of state for home Mr Amit Shah, along with two other accused, tried to hamper probe and threaten witnesses, the investigating agency has said.
Mr Shah directed Mr Ajay Patel and Mr Yashpal Chudasama, his close confidants and accused, to "convince, coerce, threaten and influence the witnesses on his behalf to conceal the truth from CBI about the fake encounter of Sohrabuddin", according to the chargesheet filed by the agency in a court here on Friday.
The 2005 encounter case was transferred to the Central agency in January this year.
Investigations revealed that Ajay Patel conveyed a message to two witnesses, Raman
Patel and Dashrat Patel, that what they say before CBI would be provided to them in the
form of written statements by DCP Abhay Chudasama, who is also an accused, it said.
Both witnesses had four meetings with middlemen sent by Shah at separate places.
These meetings were videographed by the two witnesses in a discreet manner. This
audio-visual recording has been seized by the CBI.
"The transcription of the these meetings revealed obstruction and influencing of the
witnesses by Shah and Abhay Chudasama," the chargesheet said.