Sohrabuddin fake encounter case: Court directs protection be given to retired Gujarat cop

Solanki was earlier summoned to appear on Friday. Special Judge SJ Sharma was informed by special public prosecutor BP Raju that Solanki had expressed his inability to come before court without protection. “As per his remark (Solanki’s), he needs protection to appear before the court. So, CBI Mumbai is directed to make arrangement for his protection to enable him to appear before court on October 5,” the court said.

The 68-year-old Ahmedabad resident had conducted the preliminary enquiry in 2006 on the directions of the Supreme Court and concluded that the encounter of Sohrabuddin was not genuine.

According to statements that are part of the chargesheet filed by the CBI in the case, Solanki, who was an inspector then, was in touch with then Inspector General of Police, Geeta Johri, to probe the case. The statements say that Johri — also named as accused in the case but discharged in 2015 — on instructions of then MoS (Gujarat) Amit Shah, had directed Solanki to change the case papers in the Sohrabuddin case but he had refused.

Solanki had also sought permission from Johri on December 16, 2006 to interrogate Sohrabuddin’s associate Tulsiram Prajapati, who was then lodged at Udaipur Central Jail. It was claimed that Tulsiram had witnessed the abduction of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausarbi from a luxury bus, while the three were on their way to Sangli in Maharashtra from Hyderabad on November 23, 2005. Prajapati, however, was killed in an allegedly staged encounter days later on December 28, 2006.

Solanki had said in his plea that he was given protection since his retirement in 2007 due to the threat to his life but the security cover was abruptly removed over a month ago. He is now likely to appear before court on October 5.