Sohrabuddin: ‘What made Andhra Police help Gujarat cops?’

“What was the motive of the Andhra Pradesh Police to join the conspiracy? What could have actuated their action when it was not officially done?” the Bench said.

The Bench’s reply came in response to the allegation by the amicus curaie that the AP Police had given logistical support to the Gujarat Police in carrying out the killings.

The amicus curaie,who pressed for the transfer of the investigations to an independent agency like the CBI,also alleged that the AP Police had a definite role in extending help to the Gujarat Police in carrying out the killings.

He,however,added that the AP Police had disowned any type of official support to the encounter or rather the state took the plea that the encounter might have been conducted with the “illegal” help of some of its officers.

The allegation says that two vehicles carrying AP Police personnel had escorted the three victims from the state to Gujarat to facilitate the killings.

Sohrabuddin,along with Kauser Bi and their friend Prajapati,were picked up in a joint operation by Gujarat and AP Police from a bus on its way from Hyderabad to Sangli in Maharashtra on November 22,2005.

Besides the AP Police,the role of Rajasthan Police also figured during the investigations conducted so far into the killings. The amicus curaie also accused the state police of leaving several loose ends in the investigations,as the state had been consistently making efforts to shield the accused.

“In a case where investigations have never been fair and where the state has not been fair in the advancement of the course of justice,we must have thorough investigations into the incidents,as police officers are involved in the murder,” the amicus curaie urged the Bench.

To draw home his point,he pointed out that no efforts had been made till date to establish how Kausar Bi and Prajapati had been killed.

The amicus curaie pointed out that Inspector Solanki of the Gujarat CID,who had conducted preliminary investigations into the fake encounters,had recorded a number of crucial statements linking top police officers of the state to the killings,but the report has neither

been submitted in the apex court nor had formed part of the chargesheet filed in the trial court.

The hearing will continue on Thursday.