In a first,Gujarat HC orders CBI to probe encounter case

Justice M R Shah ordered the transfer of investigation from the city crime branch to the CBI on a petition by Sadiq’s brother Shabbir Jamal Mehtar.

The court said the encounter involved high-ranking police officials of Gujarat and there could be apprehensions of bias in investigations.

Therefore,a probe by an independent agency like the CBI is required,it said.

The court however,categorically stated the judgement in no way doubts the credibility of state police.

Sadiq Jamal was killed by the Ahmedabad City Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) near Galaxy Cinema in the Naroda area of Ahmedabad on January 13,2003.

DCB had claimed Sadiq was a terrorist on a mission to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. IPS officer D G Vanzara,who has already been arrested in connection with Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Prajapati encounter cases,was the deputy commissioner of police at DCB at the relevant time.

Officer P C Pandey was also part of the team. His name has surfaced in other controversial encounters,including that of Ishrat Jahan and her friends.

The court also rejected the plea of the Gujarat government to transfer probe in the matter to the Special Task Force (STF),constituted by the state to inquire into police encounter cases.

The court further observed that no formal complaint was filed in the killing of Sadiq and only a summary report was filed by police. Besides,no investigation was conducted with regard to his death,it said.

In 2003,after the encounter,the crime branch had claimed they had intelligence inputs that Sadiq was a noted criminal in the league of people like Dawood Ibrahim and Chhota Shakeel and had planned to kill BJP leader L K Advani,Chief Minister Narendra Modi and VHP leader Pravin Togadia.

However,Shabbir alleged that his brother’s encounter by Gujarat Police was fake.

In his petition demanding a CBI probe,he claimed his brother was not a terrorist and alleged that the plot to kill his brother was a ‘cold-blooded murder’ and a

‘conspiracy’ hatched by Vanzara and IPS officer Pandey,who was heading the city crime branch in 2003.

A single-judge Bench of the Gujarat High Court had in April reserved its order on a petition demanding CBI probe into the killing of Sadiq Jamal.

Government Pleader Prakash Jani had opposed the petition arguing it had been filed too late. He also contended if courts start ordering CBI probes in all encounter cases and order FIRs against police officers,it would be demoralising for the state police which is already battling terror threats.

P C Pandey and D G Vanzara were also made respondents in the petition. Pandey was DCB joint commissioner at the time of the encounter.