Sohrabuddin case: CBI moves HC to get voice samples of accused

Ahmedabad, Feb 3 (PTI) The CBI today challenged in thethe Gujarat High Court a special court''s order disallowing theprobe agency from taking voice samples of two accused in the2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

The Central agency probing the high-profile case hassought permission to collect voice samples of suspended IPSofficer Abhay Chudasama and Sub-Inspector N V Chauhan tocompare them with audio-video evidence.

The CBI''s plea is likely to be heard next week.

Last month, CBI Sessions Court Judge G K Upadhyay,while hearing appeal of Chudasama and Chauhan, had restrainedthe agency from collecting their voice samples.

Judge Upadhyay had passed the order while hearingtheir appeal against a Magisterial Court''s order of lastOctober that had allowed CBI to collect their voice samples.

The lawyer representing the two had argued that aMagisterial Court did not have powers to permit the premieragency to collect voice samples of the accused.

CBI wanted voice samples of Chudasama, Chauhan andco-accused N K Amin to verify audio-video evidence with it.

Amin, a former police officer, who wants to turn anapprover in the case, has already given his voice sample forverification.

The evidence includes the recording of a purportedconversation between Amin and Chauhan. In the tape, Chauhan isallegedly caught saying he had heard prime accused, IPSofficer D G Vanzara telling another co-accused RajkumarPandian over the phone that instructions to liquidateSohrabuddin''s wife Kausar Bi came from former Minister ofState for Home Amit Shah.

Another evidence is the video recording of a meetingbetween two accused, Yashpal Chudasama and Ajay Patel, withtwo witnesses in the case, builders Raman Patel and hisbrother Dashrat, at the city-based Rifle Club. Chudasama wasalso present during the meeting.

In this footage, accused have been caught trying toinfluence the witnesses and allegedly directing them ondeposing before the CBI.