Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The CBI,probing the fake encounter case of Ishrat Jehan and three others,has once again summoned Intelligence IB Special Director Rajinder Kumar for questioning on Friday as the agency doubts he is withholding information.
Sources said Kumar may be named as an accused in the case. The CBI had sought a legal opinion on Kumars statement and those of Gujarat police officers named and arrested in the case.
A 1979 batch IPS officer,Kumar was summoned by CBI last month. He had then told the agency that as IB joint director posted in Gujarat he had only given an input but had not asked the police to carry out an encounter.
Kumar is also learnt to have cited the disclosures made by David Coleman Headley,an accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attack. Headley reportedly had claimed that Ishrat was part of an LeT module but her family denied it.
However,the CBI action could have a political fallout. The BJP has already blamed the Congress of misusing the agency to expose the functioning of IB and destroy it.
The CBI decision has also been opposed by top officials of the government. IB Director S A Ibrahim Tuesday met CBI Director Ranjit Sinha and Home Secretary R K Singh.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram during the chief ministers meet last week had said that the Gujarat chief minister and other BJP leaders were interfering in the CBI probe.
