SC takes note of plea by Prajapati146;s mother

As the Supreme Court monitors the investigation into the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in an alleged encounter and the death of his wife Kauser Bi, the silence over his accomplice Tulsiram Prajapati has forced his mother to now approach the court.

Acting on her petition, a bench headed by Justice Tarun Chatterjee asked the governments of Gujarat and Rajasthan to furnish their response.Prajapati was allegedly caught in a joint operation by Gujarat and Rajasthan Police personnel while he was travelling along with Sheikh and his wife in a bus. All three were travelling from Hyderabad to Sangli in Maharashtra. The Andhra Pradesh Police had also provided logistics support. While Sohrabuddin was killed in Gujarat, Prajapati was allegedly shot dead by the police in Rajasthan.

Another bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan also issued notices to the Centre on a petition filed by noted journalist B G Verghese seeking an inquiry into incidents of fake encounter killings in Gujarat alone.

Varghese pointed out that the Gujarat Government had itself admitted in the Assembly 21 such incidents of encounter killings by the state police between 2003 and 2006.