Ahmedabad, April 24
Three IPS officials, including one from Rajasthan, were today arrested by the Gujarat police on a charge of murder for their alleged role in the death of a man in a fake encounter here in 2005.

Those arrested are inspector-general (border range) D.G. Vanzara, superintendent of police Rajkumar Pandayan of the state intelligence wing, and M.N. Dinesh, the SP of Rajasthan's Alwar district.

The arrests were made in connection with the death of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, allegedly killed in a gunbattle here on November 26, 2005, during a joint operation by the Gujarat's anti-terrorist squad and the Rajasthan police.

Vanzara and Pandayan were called to the Gujarat police chief's office and arrested in the DGP's presence, senior state intelligence wing official Sudhir Sinha said.

Sinha said they were arrested "on a charge of murder". Dinesh, who hails from Karnataka, was in Ahmedabad in connection with the probe into the killing and was also arrested. Rajasthan's personnel department will decide the future course of action against him, an official in Jaipur said.

Sheikh's wife Kausar Bano has been missing since the time of his death.

The Gujarat government had informed the Supreme Court on March 23 this year that the encounter in which Sheikh was killed was fake. The admission came in response to a petition filed in the apex court by Sheikh's brother Rubabuddin. Vanzara was chief of the anti-terrorist squad at the time of Sheikh's killing while Pandayan was his deputy. — PTI