CBI gets one-month extension for Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram cases

A source in CBI said,“The extension was sought after a meeting with the top officers in Delhi. The sources said in the meeting there were difference of opinion among the CBI officers on filing the charge sheet in the Tulsiram encounter case. The CBI team that is probing the Tulsiram case at present was asked to submit a charge sheet and complete the investigations of the Sohrabuddin encounter case by mid July. The sources said that last week’s developments in the Tulsriam case investigations had a major role to play in seeking “last minute” extension.

The CBI in their probe so far had reached to a conclusion that the third person travelling with Sohrabuddin and wife Kausar Bi was Tulsiram Prajapati. The CBI believes that Tulsiram was eliminated because he was a witness to the abduction and murder of the couple. The Gujarat Police’s CID had,however,concluded that the third person was Kalimuddin and this loophole required to be plugged this time.

A source in the CBI added,“The officers who probed the Tulsiram encounter case earlier have striking differences in opinion on the reasons behind the tampering of evidences in this case and reasons behind derailing the case investigations in 2006 when it was with the Gujarat Police”.

The CBI had grilled retired police officer O P Mathur and IPS officer Geetha Johri on both the Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram encounter case on June 25 and June 27 respectively.

According to sources,Mathur has again pointed fingers at Geetha Johri and pleaded ignorance on the tampering of the call records CDs.

Johri had prepared two CDs of call records that had vital details on calls made by Minister of State for Home Amit Shah and jailed police officers D G Vanzara,Rajkumar Pandian and Dinesh M N. Mathur is believed to have told the CBI again that the CDs were in possession of Geetha when the tampering happened.

Moreover,Johri had concluded in her action taken reports to the SC during her probe as IG CID in 2006,that the third person was Kalimuddin. Sources say Mathur and Geetha have given different statements on this too. The sources stated that Mathur had denied allegations on pressurising Geetha during investigations reportedly telling CBI that if she was under pressure he did not know.

Sohrbauddin and wife Kausar Bi were killed in an encounter on November 2005 in Ahmedabad while Sohrabuddin’s aide Tulsiram was killed in December 2006 in Ambaji.

With four more weeks to probe the case now,the CBI is expected to plug these loopholes and produce a final report of the Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram encounter case.