Ahmedabad: A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court has adjourned former Gujarat Minister Amit Shah's bail plea hearing till Wednesday.
The CBI has asked court to put former Gujarat Minister Amit Shah in police custody for five days as he has not cooperated during judicial interrogation, a move that Shah's lawyer has vehemently opposed.
The CBI also made clear that it had not sought a transfer of the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case out of Gujarat in its action taken report to the Supreme Court and that if the trial could go on unhindered in "a conducive atmosphere," the CBI had no problem with it being conducted in the state.
Sohrabuddin Sheikh, a small-time criminal, and his wife Kauser Bi, were taken off a bus, held hostage and then killed allegedly by senior Gujarat policemen in November 2005. The police claimed at the time that Sohrabuddin was a Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist and was shot dead while he was on his way to assassinate Chief Minister Narendra Modi. In 2007, the government admitted that Sohrabuddin had been murdered in a fake encounter. (Who was Sohrabuddin Sheikh?)
On July 23 this year, the CBI produced a 30,000-page chargesheet implicating Shah in the case. Amit Shah, who initially failed to appear for questioning before the CBI last month, eventually surfaced, resigned and was arrested on July 25 and was sent to judicial custody. He has been lodged at the Sabarmati Jail in Ahmedabad since. (Who is Amit Shah?)
On Monday, the CBI's counsel KTS Tulsi argued for handing Shah over to police custody saying the law allowed the CBI to have custody within the first 15 days of arrest. He alleged that attempts had been made to hamper investigations and even said the CBI wanted the grounds to seek custody to be given in a sealed cover as it feared it might be misused if made public.
Tulsi also told court that the CBI had a lot of evidence, had found that "there was a syndicate of politicians, goons and policemen for running the extortion racket, there are four witnesses on the basis of which we are making these statements." He mentioned tapes of recorded conversations between Shah and NK Amin, a cop in custody who wants to turn approver.
CHARGES AGAINST AMIT SHAH
The chargesheet alleges that Amit Shah decided Sohrabuddin should be eliminated and put top cops DG Vanzara and Abhay Chudasama in charge.(Who is DG Vanzara?)
The CBI says that after Sohrabuddin and Kauser were kidnapped from the bus in 2005 and taken to a farmhouse near Ahmedabad, Sohrabuddin was shot first and Kauser Bi was killed a few days later.
The investigating agency has also alleged that the Shah instructed the police to get rid of Kauser's corpse. Her body was packed in a plastic bag with hay, diesel was poured on it and then Vanzara set it on fire, the CBI chargesheet says. Her ashes and bones, the CBI says, were thrown into the Narmada river.
The CBI has asked court to put former Gujarat Minister Amit Shah in police custody for five days as he has not cooperated during judicial interrogation, a move that Shah's lawyer has vehemently opposed.
The CBI also made clear that it had not sought a transfer of the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case out of Gujarat in its action taken report to the Supreme Court and that if the trial could go on unhindered in "a conducive atmosphere," the CBI had no problem with it being conducted in the state.
Sohrabuddin Sheikh, a small-time criminal, and his wife Kauser Bi, were taken off a bus, held hostage and then killed allegedly by senior Gujarat policemen in November 2005. The police claimed at the time that Sohrabuddin was a Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorist and was shot dead while he was on his way to assassinate Chief Minister Narendra Modi. In 2007, the government admitted that Sohrabuddin had been murdered in a fake encounter. (Who was Sohrabuddin Sheikh?)
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On July 23 this year, the CBI produced a 30,000-page chargesheet implicating Shah in the case. Amit Shah, who initially failed to appear for questioning before the CBI last month, eventually surfaced, resigned and was arrested on July 25 and was sent to judicial custody. He has been lodged at the Sabarmati Jail in Ahmedabad since. (Who is Amit Shah?)
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On Monday, the CBI's counsel KTS Tulsi argued for handing Shah over to police custody saying the law allowed the CBI to have custody within the first 15 days of arrest. He alleged that attempts had been made to hamper investigations and even said the CBI wanted the grounds to seek custody to be given in a sealed cover as it feared it might be misused if made public.
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Tulsi also told court that the CBI had a lot of evidence, had found that "there was a syndicate of politicians, goons and policemen for running the extortion racket, there are four witnesses on the basis of which we are making these statements." He mentioned tapes of recorded conversations between Shah and NK Amin, a cop in custody who wants to turn approver.
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CHARGES AGAINST AMIT SHAH
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The chargesheet alleges that Amit Shah decided Sohrabuddin should be eliminated and put top cops DG Vanzara and Abhay Chudasama in charge.(Who is DG Vanzara?)
The CBI says that after Sohrabuddin and Kauser were kidnapped from the bus in 2005 and taken to a farmhouse near Ahmedabad, Sohrabuddin was shot first and Kauser Bi was killed a few days later.
The investigating agency has also alleged that the Shah instructed the police to get rid of Kauser's corpse. Her body was packed in a plastic bag with hay, diesel was poured on it and then Vanzara set it on fire, the CBI chargesheet says. Her ashes and bones, the CBI says, were thrown into the Narmada river.
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