SC decision on CBI probe in fake encounter on May 3

New Delhi, May 1: The Supreme Court will pass the order on a petition seeking CBI inquiry into the Gujarat fake encounter case on Thursday.

Mr Justice Tarun Chatterjee decided to take up the matter on Thursday as the other judge Mr PK Balasubramaniam will be available only on that day.

The apex court will decide whether to order a CBI probe into the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife Kauser Bi and soul eyewitness in the case Tulsiram Prajapati, as all the three were allegedly killed in fake encounters involving the Gujarat and Rajasthan police, in November 2005.

The Gujarat Police is also investigating the alleged involvement of Andhra Pradesh Police as the bus from which the victims were pulled out was going from Hyedrabad to Sangli on November 26, 2005.

The centre is backing the demand for CBI inquiry while the Gujarat Government is staunchly opposing it.

According to Gujarat Police, Sohrabuddin was a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant and might have been killed as a result of differences with marble mafia in Rajasthan as the deceased was allegedly involved in extortion racket.

The Gujarat Government has already admitted before the court, the involvement of its senior police officer in the fake encounter.

Three senior IPS officers DIG (ATS),DG Vanjara, SP, Intelligence, Rajkumar Pandyan, both from Gujarat and SP,Alwar, MN Dinesh have already been arrested and the possibility of more such arrests of police officers can not be ruled out. Gujarat Home Minister,Amit Shah is also under cloud.

Initially the Gujarat police had alleged that Sohrabuddin was conspiring to eliminate state Chief Minister Narendra Modi and was facing 56 criminal cases including one under TADA spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh , Gujarat, Maharastra and Chandigarh.

UNI