The Hindu : National : Brother seeks fresh probe into Sohrabuddin case

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Thursday, May 01, 2008
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Brother seeks fresh probe into Sohrabuddin case

Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD: The Ahmedabad sessions court on Wednesday issued notice to the Gujarat government on a petition seeking further investigation into the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.

The petition was filed on Wednesday under Section 173(8) of the Criminal Procedure Code by Sohrabuddin’s brother, Rubabuddin, who had filed a case in the Supreme Court also. Sessions judge P.B. Desai asked the government to give its reply by May 9.

Mr. Rubabuddin said the charge sheet did not throw light on three vital matters and a fresh investigation by the CID (Crime) was required. While the police claimed that Sohrabuddin was riding a motorbike when he was shot dead and the vehicle was recovered, the investigating agencies did not name the owner of the motorbike or in whose custody it was at the time of recovery.

Also the investigation did not throw light on why and how Sohrabuddin’s wife, Kausarbi, was killed. The petitioner brought out the absence of any reference in the charge sheet to a compact disc claimed to have been prepared by the first investigating officer, Rajnish Rai, who put three of his IPS colleagues including Deputy Inspector-General D.G. Vanzara in jail.

The petitioner said Mr. Rai had made the CD with the help of mobile service companies listing the calls made by the accused police officials around the time the fake encounter took place on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. An analysis of the CD could throw up vital clues.

Even after a year since the principal accused, Mr. Vanzara and the two other IPS officers Rajkumar Pandian and M.N. Dinesh Kumar were arrested, the investigation had not made headway into certain crucial areas.

Last month, the sessions court approved the demand for narco-analysis on the accused. The Forensic Science Laboratory, Gandhinagar, has scheduled tests on the IPS officers and three other policemen for May 5-9.

Meanwhile, Deputy Superintendent N.K. Amin, who is among the 13 accused policemen in the Sohrabuddin case and lodged in the Sabarmati central jail, reportedly attacked Mr. Vanzara after he and Mr. Kumar were denied bail by the Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Though jail authorities refused to confirm the incident, sources said clashes among the accused had become frequent as the frustrated policemen were blaming Mr. Vanzara for their plight.

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