Ahmedabad: The CBI on Monday questioned two
Gujarat IPS officers in connection with Sohrabuddin fake
encounter case.
IPS officers Rajnish Rai and G L Singhal appeared before
the investigating agency.
Rai had earlier headed the investigation in the
Sohrabuddin fake encounter case and arrested three IPS
officials D G Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandian of Gujarat cadre and
Dinesh M N of Rajasthan cadre for staging a fake encounter of
Sohrabuddin and subsequent murder of his wife Kauserbi.
Singhal, currently posted as SP in Anti-Terrorist Squad
(ATS), has been accused of "influencing important witnesses"
in the case and he had reportedly visited Sohrabuddin and his
wife when they were kept in a farm house in Gandhinagar
district where Singhal was SP then.
The CBI officials, involved in the investigation, said
the two officials appeared before the agency, but refused to
divulge details of what transpired during the questioning of
the two IPS officers.
The investigating agency had summoned Singhal, Rai and
other five retired and serving IPS officials for questioning
as they were associated with the case in one way or other
while it was being probed by the Gujarat police.
CBI took charge of the probe following a Supreme Court
order on January 12 this year.
Two retired IPS officials O P Mathur and G C Raigar and
serving IPS officials Geetha Johri, I M Desai and V V Rabari
and a lower-level official R K Patel were summoned by the CBI
to appear before the agency from May 3 to 7 in connection with
the case.
CBI, since it took over the probe from Gujarat police,
has so far arrested four IPS officers, including DCP Abhay
Chudasama, who according to CBI is a key conspirator in
Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. Currently, Chudasama is on
remand till May 5.
Sohrabuddin was killed in a fake encounter carried out
jointly by Gujarat and Rajasthan police on November 26, 2005.
Earlier, he and his wife along with a third person were
abducted by a team of Gujarat police from Andhra Pradesh and
subsequently were taken to Ahmedabad to stage the encounter
saying the trio had a plan to eliminate Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi.
PTI
First Published: Monday, May 03, 2010, 21:52