Ishrat case: Gujarat govt refuses to sanction prosecution of ex-cops, says CBI

Ahmedabad, March 19

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday told a special CBI court that the Gujarat government had declined sanction to prosecute retired police officers DG Vanzara and NK Amin in the alleged fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan and three others.

After going through a letter submitted to the court of special CBI judge JK Pandya by CBI lawyer RC Kodekar, the court said the sanction to prosecute the former officers, who were accused in the case, under Section 197 of the CrPC, was declined by the state government.

The defence lawyers then sought permission to file an application to drop proceedings against the two former police officers.

The court granted the request and asked them to file an application on March 26.

The court had earlier rejected discharge applications of the two ex-officers and asked the CBI to clear its stand on whether it wanted to get sanction to prosecute them from the state government.

Accordingly, the CBI wrote to the state government requesting for the same.

Vanzara and Amin are two of the seven accused chargesheeted by the CBI in the case.

Vanzara is a former deputy inspector general of police, while Amin retired as superintendent of police.

Jahan, a 19-year-old woman from Mumbra near Mumbai, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an alleged fake encounter by police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.

Gujarat Police had then claimed that the four had links with terrorists and had plotted to kill then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. PTI