Key accused seeks discharge from trial

Sources said that Pandian moved the discharge petition last week.

IPS officer Rajkumar Pandian, one of the key accused in Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati encounter cases, has filed a discharge application before the special CBI court in Mumbai. Pandian is learnt to have sought exoneration on the ground of parity with other co-accused who were discharged from the case over the last couple of months, among other grounds.

Pandian’s role figures in the chargesheets — in both Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati case — as a key conspirator who participated in the case right from the beginning. The CBI chargesheet has claimed that “Pandian is involved in the entire conspiracy of bringing Sohrabuddin from Hyderabad to Ahmedabad, killing him in fake encounter and, thereafter, killing his wife Kauser Bi and destroying her dead body by setting it on fire.”

Pandian was part of Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad, led by ex-IPS officer DG Vanzara, a co-accused, that picked up Sohrabuddin and Kauser Bi from Hyderabad and killed them in a staged encounter near Ahmedabad’s Vishala circle in November 2005. Sohrabuddin was branded by the team as a Lashkar-e-Toiba operative, who was planning to kill key political leaders, including the then chief minister Narendra Modi, now PM.

[related-post]

Story continues below this ad

Sources said that Pandian moved the discharge petition last week. The petition is said to be running into nearly 1,700 pages. The court has fixed the hearing on the application on April 16. Sources said that Pandian has sought exoneration on the ground of parity with other co-accused who have been discharged from the case. Besides, he has also placed the ground of prior sanction of the government before prosecuting a government officer under section 197 of the CrPC.

Over the past three months, the special CBI court has dropped charges against BJP president Amit Shah, Rajasthan home minister Gulab Chand Kataria, businessman Vimal Patni, ex-Gujarat DGP P C Pande, O P Mathur, ADGP Geetha Johri, among others.

Pandian was arrested, along with co-accused DG Vanzara, Rajasthan cadre IPS officer Dinesh M N, in April 2007 by the Gujarat CID (crime). He was granted bail by the SC in March 2014 with a condition that he will be confined to Mumbai.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Loading Taboola...

Among dead in Vijay rally stampede, young mother, couple set to marry

Cities1 hr ago

A rally by actor-politician Vijay in Velusamypuram ended tragically with 40 deaths in a stampede. Non-political workers gathered to see the superstar, but exhaustion, heat, and poor planning caused chaos. People collapsed, ambulances couldn't reach, and police presence was inadequate. Vijay's team ignored instructions, and the narrow roads and insufficient crowd control added to the tragedy.

View all shorts

Live Blog