Ahmedabad, July 24: The absconding minister of state for home from Gujarat, Mr Amit Shah, who has been chargesheeted for murder in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter killing by the Central Bureau of Investigation, on Saturday resigned from the Narendra Modi government.
The CBI, meanwhile, continued its hunt for the high-profile fugitive accused in the sensational fake encounter case. His whereabouts still remain a closely guarded secret.
Mr Shah, whose application for anticipatory bail was rejected by the special CBI court here on Friday, has the option to either surrender before the investigative agency or the court, or approach the High Court seeking anticipatory bail.
“He may surrender as going to the High Court for anticipatory bail may not be advisable at this time because his plea has already been rejected by the lower court,” a BJP leader said.
Mr Shah’s resignation was announced by the Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, his political mentor, in New Delhi on Saturday.
“He is innocent, all the charges against him are fabricated and politically motivated. He will fight a legal battle. He has sent his resignation, which will be accepted,” Mr Modi told mediapersons at Delhi airport on arriving to attend the National Development Council meeting convened by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.
The CBI, meanwhile, claims it has prepared a watertight case against Mr Shah, who has been charged with criminal conspiracy, murder, extortion, kidnapping, illegal confinement, destruction of evidence, tampering with evidence and influencing and threatening witnesses.
Mr Shah, two of his associates, four senior IPS officers and eight other middle-level police officers have been chargesheeted in the fake encounter killing of Udaipur-based gangster Sohrabuddin and the subsequent murder of his wife Kauser Bi in November 2005.
The CBI says it has evidence to prove that Mr Shah, as minister of state for home, had pressured police officials of the Gujarat CID when they had launched an investigation into the fake encounter case at the direction of the Supreme Court.
In the chargesheet, the CBI has stated that Mr Shah and certain police officials ran an extortion network in which they used gangsters like Sohrabuddin to extort money from businessmen and builders in Ahmedabad.