Click to play videoThe Gujarat Police chargesheeted and arrested three senior IPS officers for killing one Sohrabuddin Sheikh in a fake encounter in Gujarat on Tuesday.
Sohrabuddin — shot dead on November 22, 2005 — was falsely implicated as a Lashkar-e-Toiba operative who was on a ‘mission’ to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Sohrabuddin Sheikh's wife, Kauser Bi was also with him at the time of the encounter but her whereabouts have not been known ever since the incident. A friend of the victims, Tulsiram Prajapati was also killed in the encounter, allegedly because he refused to give credence to the police story in the court.
While some of the reports suggest that the victim, Sohrabuddin, was not an innocent man and was allegedly an extortionist who worked for the builders’ lobby, his killing has raised serious doubts on the integrity and honesty of the top police officials of the country. Also in question is the political lobby that is seen influencing probes and bending laws to a dangerous extent in several cases.
Now that the Gujarat government has admitted — following the CID probe — that is was a fake encounter, should Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah step down?
This was the topic of discussion on CNN-IBN show Face the Nation conducted by Vidya Shankar Aiyar.
On the panel of experts to discuss the issue threadbare were BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar with social activist and Secretary, Citizens for Justice and Peace, Teesta Setalvad.
Should Narendra Modi step down?
Some of the opposition leaders in the Gujarat Assembly said on Tuesday that the arrest of the two IPS officials was actually the state government’s “operation cover-up” to protect Modi and Shah.
GUJARAT FAKE ENCOUNTER | |
 | November 2005: Sohrabuddin Sheikh shot dead in a joint operation by Gujarat ATS and Rajasthan Police. Police claimed that Sohrabuddin was an LeT operative. |
| Police said the encounter had taken place while Soharbuddin was riding a motor cycle. Sohrabuddin's brother Rubabuddin filed a petition in the SC claiming it was a fake encounter. |
| Sohrabuddin's wife is missing ever since and could have been killed as well, says Rubabuddin. |
| Gujarat Govt ordered a CID probe into the entire incident. CID inquiry established loopholes in the police's version. |
| CID report: Sohrabuddin was picked up from an inter-state bus while travelling from Andhra Pradesh to Gujarat via Rajasthan. |
| March 23, 2007: Gujarat govt counsel admitted to fake encounter killing. Gujarat govt told SC it was taking immediate action against the erring personnel. |
And Congress leaders demanded that Gujarat Police’s 14 encounters that took place during Modi’s tenure be probed by an independent agency to unearth the truth behind the encounters.
“A free and fair investigation cannot take place against the same government that is holding power in Gujarat. Chief Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and his other Cabinet colleagues, too, have a nexus in the case and what we require is an independent probe,” Setalvad said.
However, Javdekar said that he is “amazed to hear” such things.
“Here is a state government that acted immediately, carried out a CID probe and got the top police officers arrested. Now you are saying that it must step down. What more do you want?” Javdekar asked.
What Javdekar did not mention was the fact that the probe was neither initiated nor assisted by the Gujarat government. It was the victim’s brother who filed a complaint and the court ordered a CID probe into the case.
Responding to these facts, Javdekar defended the Gujarat government saying that the courts gave direction to the state governments and it “immediately complied with the court’s directive.”
“The court had ordered an enquiry after a complaint was lodged. The enquiry was immediately initiated making sure that it remains fair and impartial. It’s for the first time that one can see three IPS officers being arrested,” he said.
Javdekar added that we must not “forget the fact” that the concerned man here was not “fully innocent.” Though, Sohrabuddin was booked under sedation and other charges, however, his encounter killing was completely unjustified, he said.
The BJP spokesperson said that Sohrabuddin was charged for “anti-national activities” not just in Gujarat but also in three other states. He ruled out Modi government’s role in the killing by saying that the other three states where he was booked are ruled by Congress and the Samajwadi Party.
“It is not as if an innocent person like you and me was killed in an encounter. Since the government immediately complied with the court’s orders, you should actually thank the government instead of asking for resignations,” said Javdekar.
Murky details
The arrests of the IPS officers are believed to have been made on the basis of a preliminary report submitted by IG CID (Crime) Geeta Johri, who concluded the encounter was a fake one.
Johri, who conducted a detailed probe after the Supreme Court directive, had submitted her report to the court in December 2006. So, then the question arises as to why the state government did not initiate any action against the officials.
Secondly, there are no answers to why and at whose behest, the investigation was taken away from Johri and handed over to another officer Keshav Kumar and later to Rajneesh Rai.
On being served the SC notice, the state government admitted before it in March 2007 that the encounter was a fake one. So why did the state police take so long to arrest the officials?
“What we seem to have missed is that it’s not just Sorabbuddin and Kauser Bi who was killed. Tulsiram a key witness in the case was also killed in December 2006,” Setalwad said.
She added that it is “suspicious” as to why the investigation was taken away from Johri just when she submitted a report that said Sorabbuddin was lodged in a farmhouse.
“The moment IG Johari gets to the heart of the matter, the investigation is pulled away from her. Not only that, Tulsi Ram is also eliminated. It is clearly suppression and subversion of evidence, which is not unique to this case,” said Setalvad.
Blaming the political dispensation in Gujarat, she quoted similar predicaments of the Best Bakery case when the trial took place in Mumbai.
Setalvad concluded the argument by saying, “The political dispensation in Gujarat did the same thing in over 40 cases that were reopened, witnesses paid or threatened into turning hostile. What we are looking at is a government that is determined to subvert the orders of the apex court.”
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