Ahmedabad: CBI has opposed an application
by former DIG D G Vanzara and seven other police officers,
accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case,
objecting to another accused N K Amin turning approver in the
case.
In its reply filed in the court of Additional Chief
Judicial Magistrate A Y Dave, CBI said the application of the
eight accused objecting to Amin becoming approver, was "devoid
of any merit and deserves to be rejected".
The investigating agency further said that if the
court allows Amin`s plea, further proceedings would take place
as per the provisions of CrPC.
Amin had last week filed an application in the court
to become approver and had also asked the court to grant him
pardon in the case.
CBI counsel Ejaz Khan submitted in the court that
before considering Amin`s application for pardon his
confessional statement needs to be recorded under CrPC 164(2).
After verifying his statement, CBI might consider his
application of becoming an approver, Khan said.
The court has asked CBI to file a written reply to
Amin`s plea by August 10, when the next hearing is scheduled.
Eight policemen accused in the fake encounter case
including suspended IPS officers Vanzara, Dinesh M N and
Rajkumar Pandiyan have objected to Amin`s turning approver.
Amin, who is currently lodged in Sabarmati jail along
with other accused in the fake encounter case, was Assistant
Commissioner of Police of the city crime branch before being
arrested in 2007, based on the statement of a witness involved
in the abduction of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausar Bi.
His application came a day after CBI arrested former
Gujarat minister of state for home Amit Shah in the fake
encounter case.
Amin had also asked for transfer from Sabarmati jail
saying he faces threat to his life from other accused in the
case.
However, the court had rejected his application and
directed the jail authorities to provide adequate security to
Amin and keep him separate from other accused in the case.
Meanwhile, CBI has sought seven-day remand of another
accused Rajendra Jirawala, owner of the farm house where
Sohrabuddin and Kausar Bi were kept before being killed.
According to CBI, Jirawala could prove to be a crucial
witness in the case as he could provide information on who all
visited his Arham farm where Sohrabuddin and his wife were
kept by Gujarat Police.
PTI
