Requesting that his statements to CBI should be recorded in the presence of Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) or his authorised representative or a lawyer,former under secretary (internal security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA),R V S Mani,has reportedly sought MHAs intervention for having been coerced to sign statements by CBI. Mani lodged a complaint against Gujarat IPS officer Satish Verma who was part of CBI probe in the encounter killing till June 24. He wrote a complaint letter to his department against Verma two days after CBI recorded his statement in encounter killings in Gandhinagar on June 22. CBI has cited his statement as a witness in the list of 179 witnesses in the chargesheet which they filed on July 3 in Ahmedabad. Two days after he testified before CBI,Mani wrote a letter to his department requesting that his statements to CBI should be recorded in the presence of Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) or his authorised representative or a lawyer. In the complaint,accessed by The Indian Express,Mani has stated,During the course of recording of the statement,there were differences between the facts in my knowledge and the framing of the same by the IG,SIT,Satish Chandra Verma. Many a fact to which I was not privy to or officially never in my domain during the tenure in Ministry of Home Affairs were coerced to be signed by me. They (CBI) have recorded some contents under section 161 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) that doesnt require signature of the witness, Mani further said. When contacted,Verma said,I dont know what is the complaint,when was it made and to whom. I am not interested to know. I cant speak to press in such matters. So,ask CBI.
