CBI court discharges last three cops accused of fake encounter,Ishrat Jahan case

On March 31, a special CBI court in Ahmedabad discharged three police officers who were allegedly accused of murder in June 2004, including Ishrat Jahan, Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai. The last three accused in the case filed a discharge application on 20 March.

'Nothing on record suggest Ishrat Jahan and four others were not terrorist'

While narrating the order, Special CBI judge VR Raval noted that prima facie, there is nothing on the record that may suggest that Ishrat Jahan and three others, who were killed in the encounter, were not terrorists.

The court said, "The order is passed with the application of mind and Government has also come to the conclusion that the offences committed by the present applicants are such which have been committed while discharging their official duties as police officers and also the investigation against the accused is not proper and there is no evidence against the accused."

Court said, no evidence found for four of them, including Ishrat Jahan, to be terrorists

Hearing the case, Special CBI Judge VR Rawal said, "The prima facie record that has been put forth does not prove that the four people, including Ishrat Jahan, were not terrorists." Ishrat Jahan, Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar had an encounter with the Gujarat Police's Crime Branch team on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. All four were killed in it.

The police had said that all four were in the custody of Narendra Modi's assassination

This encounter was led by Vanzara of the Detection of Crime Branch Unit, Ahmedabad. Police said that all four were associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba and were plotting to kill the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. In this case, the CBI had filed a charge sheet in 2013 and in that 7 police officers were accused.

The names of these officers, including Vanzara, were included in the charge sheet

These officers included PP Pandey, Vanzara, NK Amen, JG Parmar, GL Singhal, Tarun Barot. All these police officers were charged with murder, murder and erasing of evidence, but all are acquitted after 8 years. Let me tell you that the Ishrat Jahan encounter case has been very much discussed since the last one and a half decade. Politically, this issue has also been very sensitive.