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Key issues in the Sohrabuddin case

R.K. Raghavan

There is a widespread demand for a CBI investigation into the fake encounter killings in Gujarat. State CIDs all over the country suffer from a total lack of credibility. When a cover-up has been alleged, it should be in the interest of a State government to agree to the transfer so that it can clear itself — provided it has nothing to hide.

THANKS TO the Gujarat police, Sohrabuddin and Kausarbi are now nationally known names. It is more than established - from the admission of the Gujarat government itself - that the couple met their violent end in late 2005 at the hands of some State policemen led by Deputy Inspector General of Police D. G. Vanzara. It is widely reported that Tulsiram Prajapathi, a material witness to Sohrabuddin's killing and Kausarbi's disappearance, was also eliminated, so that he was not available to testify to the police brutality. Apart from Vanzara, two other IPS officers, Superintendent of Police M. N. Dinesh (of Rajasthan), and Rajkumar Pandian (of Gujarat), have been arrested by the Gujarat CID in this connection. The liquidation of three innocent individuals, for reasons best known to the police, adds one more sordid chapter to the history of the Indian police.

There is one theory that the whole episode would have gone unnoticed if the woman had also not been murdered. I am not very sure of this. Nevertheless, one distorted view in defence of the police is that Sohrabuddin was an extortionist with Pakistani links, and this was the only way to put him out of action. I do not think any civilised human being will ever endorse this shocking display of police authority. While the three murders cannot be condoned, whatever standards you adopt, what is most painful and untenable is the casual manner in which the whole matter has been handled by the Gujarat government.

The impression that has gained ground, perhaps not unjustifiably, is that if it had not been for the tenacity of Rubabuddin Sheikh, who sent a letter to the Supreme Court in the days following the murder of his brother, and the swift action of the court to treat his letter as a letter petition, the police highhandedness would not have come to light. The CID action to arrest the three errant senior IPS officers is no doubt commendable. But then, why did it take more than a year-and-a-half to do so, in spite of a candid internal investigation? The inescapable fact is that the State government, after the initial dithering that needs to be explained, had no option at all but to act the way it has done now - because a report was due to the Supreme Court of India.

There was then again the inexplicable removal of the leader of the investigating team, Geetha Johri, Inspector General of Police, who is now hitting the headlines for her reported courage in refusing to take the more than a hint that was thrown at her. This again is hearsay, and a serving police officer cannot be expected to confirm or deny every bazaar rumour. I do not know this officer. I only hope she is not being undeservedly lionised. The Gujarat government's categorical denial that she ever indicted them in any of her reports for gross interference in investigation will have to be accepted as truthful, unless the contrary is proved. I will give the benefit of the doubt to a government that has given an affidavit to the highest court of the land.

Now that she is back, thanks to the Supreme Court's observation, I expect Ms. Johri to make up for the time lost when she was out of the investigation. I hope she will not however go overboard and resort to questionable methods, just because she is under pressure to produce results. There is already a report that the accused officers are going to be subjected to narcoanalysis. The reliability and the ethics involved in this mode of investigation are in doubt. There is here a need for caution and extreme circumspection.

The widespread demand now is for a CBI investigation into the killings. I am not surprised at this, because State CIDs all over the country suffer from a total lack of credibility. Ruling parties have played such havoc with them that even when a CID does a piece of clinical and brilliant work, there is only grudging acknowledgement. Both political parties and pliant police officers are to blame for this.

The Supreme Court of India has shown itself to be more than fair to the Gujarat police. It would wait for a status report from them until May 15, before ruling whether the investigation should pass on to the CBI or not. It is anybody's guess what that ruling will be. I am only amused by the State government's refusal to concede the demand. When serious doubts have been raised about its objectivity and a cover-up has been rightly or wrongly alleged, it would be in the interest of a State government to agree to the transfer so that it can clear itself. This is of course only if it has nothing to hide! It perhaps fears the injection of politics into what should be a professional criminal investigation by the CBI.

This has no doubt been fuelled by the extreme activism of some elements in Delhi in favour of a transfer of the case to the CBI. Interestingly, some of these elements themselves had, in the past, been vociferous detractors of the CBI. This should not however cloud the vision of the State government - which should understand that the CBI can in no way politicise the case where facts are more than clear. This is so especially when the highest court in the land is watching and the media are even more attentive. If in the process, some favourites of the present hierarchy in the State get hurt, purely on merits of the evidence unearthed, the CBI cannot be faulted.

Finally, it is unfortunate that in a country where the police are so much under the thumb of the rulers, no CID, however professional, can ever win the praise of even neutral observers. This is why the Supreme Court, in its order of October 2006, directed implementation of some crucial reforms outlined by the National Police Commission (1977-81). There are few buyers for this: only a handful of States have shown a modicum of enthusiasm and signs of willingness to put these reforms in place. Now you know why Gujarat will not hand over the Sohrabuddin case to the CBI.

(The writer is a former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, New Delhi.)

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