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Court orders fresh probe into Sohrabuddin killing

Manas Dasgupta

Brother sees loopholes in charge sheet

Sessions court asks police to complete investigation in 90 days
Fresh probe could unearth new facts, says lawyer

AHMEDABAD: Rubabuddin Sheikh, brother of the encounter victim Sohrabuddin, on Friday secured a court order for a fresh investigation into the controversial incident that has put 14 policemen, including half-a-dozen Gujarat and Rajasthan IPS officers, in the dock.

Allowing his application, the Ahmedabad city sessions court ordered a fresh investigation into the November 26, 2005 encounter in which Sohrabuddin was killed. His wife Kausarbi too was later killed and her body disposed of allegedly by the police officers on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

Sessions judge P.B. Desai asked the police to complete the fresh investigations on the issues raised in Rubabuddin’s application within 90 days and submit a report.

It was on Rubabuddin’s application that the Supreme Court earlier ordered an investigation into Sohrabuddin’s death and the Gujarat government admitted that the alleged criminal from Madhya Pradesh was killed in a fake encounter.

The former Deputy Inspector-General, D.G. Vanzara, and 13 other policemen, including a senior inspector from Rajasthan, were arrested for complicity in the crime.

At the behest of the apex court, the government appointed a police team headed by DIG Geetha Johri to inquire into the fake encounter.

Rubabuddin was not, however, fully satisfied with the investigation and demanded a fresh probe, pointing out “loopholes” in the charge sheet filed by the CID (Crime).

Motorbike identity

He said the July 2007 charge sheet was silent on the identity of the motorbike which Sohrabuddin was allegedly riding when he was gunned down, its actual owner and how it came into the victim’s possession.

Also no details were mentioned of the compact discs containing details of mobile phone calls made by Mr. Vanzara and other police personnel before, during and after the encounter.

Nor did the charge sheet make any mention of the actual cause of Kausarbi’s death, and how and where she was murdered, Rubabuddin said.

The CID (Crime), in its reply, claimed that Kausarbi’s death was still under investigation, the motorbike Sohrabuddin allegedly rode was a stolen vehicle and its owner was still not traced.

The details of the CDs containing phone calls were placed before the court in a supplementary charge sheet filed in December 2007.

The court, however, allowed Rubabuddin’s application and ordered a fresh probe into the issues raised.

His lawyer, Amrish Patel, described the court order as “very significant” and said the fresh inquiry could “unearth new facts about the fake encounter.”

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