Sohrabuddin case: Gujarat's Home Minister skips appointment with CBI

Ahmedabad, July 23 (ANI): Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah failed to keep his date with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday in connection with the 2005 Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.

Shah's lawyer asked the CBI for more time and more details of what sort of questions the minister is likely to face.

According to sources, this is a strategic move to avoid direct questioning by the CBI.

Shah, who is a close aide of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, had confirmed Thursday that he would obey the CBI summons and appear for questioning on Friday.

He was first ordered on Thursday to show up for questioning by 1 pm. When there was no sign of him, the CBI issued a second summons with a deadline of 1 pm on Friday.

In a statement issued last night, Shah alleged that a misinformation campaign had been launched against him and claimed that there was no evidence against him.

Shah also alleged that the fact that he was given little notice proves that the CBI "is working with malice."

Sohrabuddin and his wife were killed in an alleged fake encounter in 2005.

In March 2007, police said Sohrabuddin Sheikh, belonged to Lashkar-e-Toiba and was planning to assassinate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to avenge the death of Muslims killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

The government also admitted that Sohrabuddin"s innocent wife Kausar Bi had been killed by the police and her body burnt in an attempt to remove traces of the crime.

The Gujarat Government admitted that senior police officers were directly involved in the killing of Sohrabuddin, and his wife, Kausar Bi, in 2005.

The admission came as a result of the intervention of Supreme Court, which ordered investigations into this case.

The CBI took up the case on directions of the Supreme Court. Earlier, the apex court had asked the CBI to probe if there was any larger conspiracy to the killings and submit the report by July 31. (ANI)