SIT to reconstruct encounter

After several theories were floated8230;and some unseen pictures were seized from the forensic lab,we believe that a reconstruction is needed to get a fix on the differences in the scientific analysis of the encounter, the SITs Satish Verma said. The SIT has all documents and proofs that show how the event unfolded,from victims being brought to the city,to the encounter,and these do not match with the scientific analysis at some points.

The reconstruction will help shed light on some of the important details of the encounter,like the distance between the source of fire and bodies of victims. It would clear the entire picture on how the police officers shot at Ishrat and her friends and why their car had bullet marks only on one side,the SIT officer said.

It would also help the SIT know if the AK 56 rifles,which,the police claimed,were recovered from the victims,were planted on them.

In short,an SIT officer said,the reconstruction would help the probe team gather more evidence to support their investigation.

Ishrat Jahan,Javed Pillai,Jishan Johar and Amzad Ali Rana were killed by the Gujarat Police in an encounter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15,2004. The police had claimed Ishrat and her friends were Lashkar-e-Toiba militants on a mission to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

In an affidavit submitted in the Gujarat High Court some time ago,the SIT had said it had recorded statements and collected evidence from various sources that show the encounter may have been staged.