Ishrat case: No evidence that Modi was target, says CBI chargesheet

One of the three men killed along with Ishrat Jahan had told Gujarat police that he planned to commit terrorist act in Ahmedabad.

Ahmedabad: One of the three men killed along with Ishrat Jahan had told Gujarat police prior to the alleged fake encounter that he planned to commit terrorist act in Ahmedabad but CBI found "no evidence" that they had come here "to kill" Chief Minister Narendra Modi, the agency has said in its chargesheet in the 2004 case.

According to CBI, Ishrat, Amjad Ali Rana and two others had been in illegal detention of Gujarat police before the fake encounter. "One of the deceased, Amjad Ali Rana, during his illegal detention at Arham Farm near Gandhinagar had stated that he had come to Ahmedabad with a plan to commit a terrorist act at some crowded location in Ahmedabad," states the chargesheet filed on Wednesday. "(IPS officers) D G Vanzara, Rajinder Kumar, N K Amin and G L Singhal had met Amjad Ali at Arham Farm during his confinement. Amjad Ali, during that time, had stated that he had come to Ahmedbad with a plan to commit a terrorist act at some location in the city," the chargesheet states. It does not say if CBI itself has found any independent evidence about Rana`s plans. The chargesheet has not revealed or elaborated further on whether Ishrat and other three were terrorists or had links with terrorists, but it has mentioned that contrary to the claims of Gujarat police, the four had no plans to kill the state`s Chief Minister Narendra Modi. "During our investigation so far, we have found no evidence that all four deceased had entered the city to kill Chief Minister Narendra Modi," it says. Describing how Amjad Ali was abducted, the chargesheet says, "Investigation revealed that on May 26, 2004, a team of DCB, Ahmedabad City, comprising NK Amin, Tarun Barot and I K Chauhan with the assistance of M K Sinha and Rajeev Wankhede, ACIOs of SIB, Ahmedabad, abducted Amjad Ali from Gota Crossing on the outskirts of the city. "Above team of accused officers...Confined him in illegal custody at Arham Farm House, near Gandhinagar from May 26 till the fateful morning of June 15, 2004," it added. PTI