Sohrabuddin encounter: Was too scared to name cops, politicians, re-examine me says witness

Mumbai, Dec 20: A key witness in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh alleged fake encounter case claimed that he faced torture for 20 days as a result of which he was scared to name IPS officers and politicians during his deposition before the special CBI court.

Azam Khan, an associate of Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram Prajapati filed a plea before the special court seeking to be re-examined as a witness. He said that his testimony is incomplete and also sought protection for himself. His plea comes at a time, when the court is set to deliver its verdict on December 21.

While Khan was able to name one retired IPS officer, he was scared to name the others after he was threatened by accused Abdul Rehman of the Rajasthan police on the morning of his deposition, the plea states.

He was specifically told that this was being done on the orders of Abhay Chudasama, who was discharged in 2015 and was also informed that all this had to be done before September 27, when they wanted Amit Shah to get bail, the application also said. Shah was named as an accused in the case, but was granted bail in 2010 and eventually discharged in 2014.

Khan said that a large number of material witnesses have not been examined in the case and no explanation has been given. While there were about 500 listed witnesses in the chargesheets in the case, only 210 were examined by the CBI, of which 92 turned hostile.

He went on to name three witnesses, including IPS officer Rajnish Rai, who were not examined. He also said that his statement recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code was not exhibited as evidence by the prosecutor. Another witness, Mahendra Zala, had made a similar plea on Tuesday.

The court which is expected to give its verdict on Friday, will hear these pleas today. Khan further went on to add that his wife was threatened by a person who had said if her husband did not give the statement according to their wishes, he would meet a fate worse that Shaikh and Prajapati. My wife was also threatened with the same fate as Kausarbi, Khan also stated.

Khan, an alleged gangster based in Udaipur, said that he and his family have been facing a "growing number of threats" in the past few months. While he was included in the list of witnesses by the CBI, the agency had claimed that he was untraceable as he was a wanted accused in several cases filed in Rajasthan.