Sadiq killing CBI fails to file chargesheet in stipulated 90 days. A CBI special court here hearing the Sadiq Jamal Mehtar encounter case on Thursday granted bail to Mumbai-based former journalist Ketan Tirodkar after the probe agency failed to file chargesheet within the stipulated period of 90 days. The CBI,claiming Tirodkar was a key accused in the case,had arrested him on July 5. His was the first arrest in the case and he was booked for conspiracy,murder,illegal confinement and kidnapping. Last month,Tirodkar had sought bail claiming policemen from Maharashtra and Gujarat had framed him to shield powerful culprits. However,the court had rejected his application. He applied for the bail again this month,which was granted by the court since CBI could not file the chargesheet. Tirodkars lawyer Sandesh Sawant said the court had instructed Tirodkar to surrender his passport as he was not allowed to go abroad. At present,Tirodkar is lodged in Surat sub-jail in judicial custody. He was first sent to Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad,but he had requested the court to provide him safety since several policemen accused in other encounter cases were also lodged in the same jail. Earlier,Tirodkar had claimed in an affidavit that he had handed over Sadiq at the behest of policemen from Maharashtra to Gujarat Police in 2003,but came to know days later that he was killed in a police encounter in Ahmedabad on January 13,2003. Police had claimed Sadiq was out to kill Chief Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders of BJP and VHP. Last month,the CBI arrested Deputy Superintendent of Police Tarun Barot,the second arrest in the case.
