The 22 accused on trial in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh alleged fake encounter case, including 21 serving and retired policemen from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, on Friday claimed that the long-drawn trial has finally led to justice. Abdul Rehman, a Udaipur-based police inspector who regularly attended the court proceedings even when many others sought exemptions, said the case showed how investigating agencies were misused and used for an ulterior agenda. “Not only have these 22 people faced the legal process for 13 years, but many also spent over seven years in jails in Gujarat and Maharashtra. The probe was never conducted in the interest of justice but with an agenda,” he added. Rehman, who the prosecution claimed had filed the complaint about Sohrabuddin being killed in a genuine encounter in Gujarat on November 26, 2005, had denied the complaint altogether during trial. He had claimed that he was never present at the encounter spot. While the CBI had initially claimed that the conspiracy to kill Sohrabuddin was hatched by senior IPS officers and politicians in Gujarat and Rajasthan, all IPS officers and politicians, including BJP president Amit Shah, were discharged from the case. The remaining 22, who faced trial, included constables, sub-inspectors, inspectors and two deputy superintendents of police. In their statements recorded under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, many told the court that they were only discharging their duties as per instructions by their seniors. “It has been a difficult trial. We would have to travel over 700 km from Rajasthan to Mumbai to attend proceedings whenever required. We knew there was no evidence against us, but we had to undergo the trial to prove it,” said 63-year-old Karan Sinh Sisodiya, a former constable with the Gujarat Police who has since retired. On Friday, after the judgment, all the accused scrambled to make phone calls to their family members. “We will return home and to our service without the shadow of being accused,” said Kiransinh Chauhan, a Gujarat Police constable. The only private person in the trial, Gujarat farmhouse owner Rajendra Jirawala, said he was unhappy that he had to face trial, as there was no evidence against him, but added that he was satisfied that justice has been done. “I am planning to contest elections on a ticket from the BJP in Gujarat next year,” Jirawala said.
