Sohrabuddin’s brothers fail to appear in court, lawyer says ‘hurt in accident’

Advocate Gautam Tiwari, representing Rubabuddin, said on July 24, both Rubabuddin and his younger brother, Nayabuddin, met with an accident and were currently bed-ridden

Sohrabuddin Shaikh and his wife. (File Photo)

The special CBI court hearing the alleged fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Shaikh was informed on Monday that two of his brothers, expected to appear as prosecution witnesses, have met with an accident.

Advocate Gautam Tiwari, representing Rubabuddin, said on July 24, both Rubabuddin and his younger brother, Nayabuddin, met with an accident and were currently bed-ridden. Rubabuddin was expected to appear as a prosecution witness on Monday. “I was informed by one of their cousins that they are bed-ridden… and will not be able to attend court for at least another 20-25 days. I was told that they are currently in their village in Jhirniya,” Tiwari informed the court.

CBI special public prosecutor informed the court, however, that the superintendent of Ujjain had sent a report on August 5, stating that the two were not present in the village for the past seven-eight days. The report, sent through a mail in Hindi, stated that policemen went to their home and even scouted the entire village but could not find them. Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Raju sought submission of medical reports of the two before the court. Tiwari told the court that he would take instructions from Rubabuddin and inform the court on Tuesday regarding his availability to appear before court on another date next month.

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When contacted, Rubabu-ddin said he was on his way to Ujjain from his village on July 24 with Nayabuddin. He said they were also accompanied by an armed guard when their car met with an accident. He said while the guard sustained severe injuries, he and his brother had injuries on their waist.

When asked about the Ujjain SP’s report, Rubabuddin said the police might have visited the village when he had gone to visit a doctor.

Hearing in Rubabuddin’s appeals against the discharge applications of three IPS officers — Rajkumar Pandian, the then SP, Gujarat; Dinesh M N, the then SP, Udaipur; and D G Vanzara, DIG, Gujarat — concluded before the Bombay High Court last month and is reserved for orders.

On Friday, the court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Nayabuddin after he failed to appear before the court since November despite previous summons and a bailable warrant earlier this year. Nayabuddin also said on Friday that whenever the summons were sent by the CBI, he was not at home. After accepting summons, Sohrabuddin’s other brother, Shahnawazuddin, who was slated to appear as a witness, on Saturday told the court that he had been advised bed-rest for 15 days. Shahnawazuddin, had earlier filed a plea, seeking to be heard as a witness, claiming that the CBI had not included him in the list of witnesses.

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