MUMBAI, February 9: Special public prosecutor G D Raje representing the Mumbai Police in the ongoing inquiry into the encounter deaths of Sada Pawle and Vijay Tandel resigned from the case on Saturday last stating personal reasons.Raje today denied having received any threats from gangsters during the course of the case or at any point of time since the beginning of his practice in 1974.
``In fact, if I had received any threats, I would not have come to court and appeared in the same case today,'' he said. He also denied reports in a section of the press that he appeared to be under duress. Raje stated that he resigned as the case was getting too strenuous and he had many other important government cases to handle. Besides, the case was time-bound.
He said that he would appear in the matter till the government appoints a new prosecutor. ``As it is, the government was to appoint some more public prosecutors,'' he said. Raje, along with Shrikant Bhat, special public prosecutor in the Abu Sayamma case,was appointed to represent the Mumbai Police. However, in a new list of 37 public prosecutors released earlier this month by the government, Raje has been retained as a public prosecutor of the Sessions Court.
Meanwhile, the encounter inquiries continued today, with the cross-examination of Rubina Javed Sayed, sister of Abu Sayama alias Javad Fawada, before the principal sessions Judge A S Aguiar. Javad Fawada is one of the accused in the Gulshan Kumar murder case.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
