ATS PSI remanded to police custody till Jul 7

Ahmedabad, July 2 (UNI) A local court today remanded Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) police sub-inspector (PSI) Balkrishan Chaubey in police custody till July 7 for his alleged involvement in the controversial Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

Chaubey was arrested by the probing CDI team yesterday for his alleged involvement in the case as he was present when Sohrabuddin was gunned down by the Gujarat and Rajasthan ATS police officials in a joint encounter on November 26, 2005 after he was branded a Lashkar-e-Toiba militant.

Chief Metropolitian Magistrate K J Upadhyay granted police remand to Chaubey till July 7, although the CID team had demanded 14-days remand.

Sohrabuddin was accused of trying to hatch a conspiracy to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, while his wife Kausar Bi, who went missing after the incident, was also later killed.

The CID team suspects that Chaubey had been manning Kauser Bi at the farmhouse at Deesha town where she was kept after her husband was killed by the ATS. It is also being suspected that Chaubey was present when Kausar Bi was killed the next day by ATS officials.

The Gujarat government had admitted to the Supreme Court that Sohrabuddin was killed in a fake encounter.

The CID team has so far arrested several police officials of the Gujarat and Rajasthan ATS force, including three top police officials D G Vanzara and Rajkumar Pandian, and Rajasthan Police SP, Dinesh Kumar for their alleged involvement in the case.

UNI