The CBI has not sought sanction to prosecute two former special directors of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Rajendra Kumar and Sudhir Kumar, in the 2003 Sadiq Jamal case, thus giving them a clean chit. The CBI had earlier questioned the former IB officers as well as Deputy NSA and ex-IB chief Nehchal Sandhu in connection with the case. Sudhir Kumar, a 1968-batch IPS officer retired as member of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), while Rajendra Kumar, a 1979-batch IPS officer retired as IB special director last year. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sought the case diaries related to the 2004 Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, before taking a decision on granting sanction for prosecuting Rajendra Kumar. In its supplementary chargesheet filed last year, the CBI had named Rajendra Kumar. But the Attorney General opined that the agency needs prosecution sanction from the government. In February this year, the CBI wrote to the MHA seeking sanction. Last week, the MHA, under Rajnath Singh, told the CBI that it would need to examine the evidence in the case diaries before granting sanction. “We have only sought copies of the case diaries as the sanctioning authority needs to apply its mind before granting sanction,” said a senior MHA official. The CBI is learnt to be upset with the move as it feels that the case diaries can only be shared with the court. The agency plans to seek legal opinion on whether it can share the case diaries with the MHA. “We have provided the SP’s report which contains details of the allegations. It is not clear why the case diaries need to be examined,” said a CBI officer. CBI sources said this may be a bid to delay sanction, and thus help the IB and Gujarat police officers accused in the case. The move is likely to delay the court proceedings. In the Sadiq Jamal case, the CBI has sought sanction to prosecute two IB officers who were then posted with the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB), Mumbai, and two Mumbai Police officials including encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma. “Our investigation shows that the four officers played a role in Sadiq Jamal’s detention. Evidence show they were aware of his movements and the purpose of sending him to Gujarat,” said a CBI officer. Sadiq Jamal was shot in Ahmedabad on January 13, 2003, by a Crime Branch team of Ahmedabad, which claimed to have intelligence inputs that he wanted to kill then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and other senior BJP and VHP leaders. The probe was transferred to the CBI on the orders of the High Court.
