New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday
wanted to know what could be the motive of the Andhra Pradesh
police in helping its Gujarat counterparts to carry out the
encounter killings of alleged gangster Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his
wife Kauser Bi and another person.
"What was the motive of the Andhra Pradesh police to
join the conspiracy? What could have actuated their action
when it was not officially done?" a bench of Justices Tarun
Chatterjee and Aftab Alam asked Solicitor General Gopal
Subramaniam who is acting as an amicus curaie (friend of the
court) in the matter.
The bench posed the query in response to the
allegation by Subramaniam that the AP police had given
logistic support to the Gujarat police in carrying out the
killings.
The apex court`s query assumes significance since AP
is ruled by Congress and Gujarat by BJP.
Sohrabuddin, along with his wife Kauser Bi and their
friend Tulsiram Prajapati, was picked in a joint operation by
the police of Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh from a bus on their
way from Hyderabad to Sangli in Maharashtra on Novemeber 22,
2005. Besides the AP police, the role of the Rajasthan police
also figured during the investigations conducted so far into
the killings.
The amicus, who sought transfer of the investigations
to an independent investigating agency like CBI or the SIT,
submitted that the AP police had a definite role in extending
help to the Gujarat police in carrying out the killings.
Bureau Report
