Further probe ordered in Sohrabuddin fake encounter case

A city sessions court ordered further investigation into the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

A city sessions court on Friday ordered further investigation into the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case on an application filed by his brother Rubabuddin.

Accepting Rubabuddin8217;s application, Additional Principal Sessions Judge P B Desai asked the investigating agency in the case, state CID crime, to submit a report of investgations before the court within 90 days.

He said the court should also be updated on the progress of the investigation on a regular basis.

Sohrabuddin was killed in a fake encounter on the outskirts of the city on November 26, 2005. His wife Kausar Bi was later killed and her body was disposed off.

Alleging that the chargesheet filed in the fake encounter case of his brother was silent on some important aspects, Rubabuddin had moved an application asking for further investigation into the case.

Suspended IPS officer D G Vanzara and 13 other policemen are behind bars in connection with the killing of Sohrabudin and Kausar Bi.

8220;This is a significant order. Further probe into the Sohrabuddin case could unearth more facts about the encounter,8221; Rubabuddin8217;s lawyer Amrish Patel said.

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In his application, Rubabuddin had alleged the chargesheet filed by the police in July 2007 was completely silent on the actual cause of death of Kausar Bi nor did it disclose details about the manner, method and the place where she was killed.

Rubabuddin further said in his application that the chargesheet did not mention who was the real owner of the motocycle which the then anti-terrorist squad chief DG Vanzara had claimed to be the vehicle on which Soharbuddin was travelling before he was stopped and killed in an encounter.

Another point raised by Rubabuddin was regarding no mention of the Compact Discs CDs containing the record of the phone calls made by Vanzara and other police officers in the chargesheet.

In its reply to the application of Rubabuddin, CID crime had said that investigations are being carried out on the manner of death of Kausar bi.

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Regarding the phone calls record, it had contented that relevant data was put on record with the supplementary chargsheet which was filed by CID crime in December 2007.

The CID crime had further said that the vehicle on which Soharabuddin was travelling was a stolen bike.

After hearing the arguments by Rubabuddin8217;s laywer and the public prosecutor on behalf of CID crime over a period of more than four months, the court accepted Rubabuddin8217;s application and ordered further investigation into the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.