Sohrabuddin encounter : Says no evidence found to prove 7 unidentified AP policemen were part of the conspiracy The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has in its Status Report submitted recently before the Supreme Court given a clean chit to the Andhra Pradesh Police in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. This assumes significance as CBIs silence over the alleged role played by some Andhra policemen in the abduction of Sheikh and his wife,Kauser Bi,had been one of the main defence points to call the investigation by the Central agency as politically motivated. In its Status Report,the CBI has stated that they examined certain suspicious police officials who could have provided logistic help and assistance to the accused Gujarat policemen in the case. (But) No evidence emerged during the investigation to establish that these unidentified persons were part of the conspiracy, says Amitabh Thakur,the chief investigating officer,in the report. However,in normal course,it is a routine practice for one state police agency to give logistic help and assistant to the officers of the other state police visiting their area and seeking assistance, he adds. It may be noted here that the Gujarat CID (Crime) chargesheet in the case had called seven unidentified Andhra police officials as absconding accused. According to the investigation carried out by the Gujarat Police,which was supervised by senior IPS officer and Rajkot Police Commissioner Geetha Johri,the seven Andhra policemen had accompanied abducted Sheikh and Kauser. The then driver of Gujarat ATS,Gurudayal Singh,in his statement recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code stated that seven policemen from Andhra Pradesh had accompanied them before and after the abduction of the couple. He was one of the three ATS drivers who were present during the abduction and his statement forms part of the CID chargesheet. Also,in her curative petition filed in the SC,Johri had not only stated that the AP Police did not co-operate with her to identify the seven policemen but also criticised the CBI for deliberately not probing the alleged role of Andhra policemen. While transferring the investigation of the case from Gujarat CID to the CBI in January this year,the SC had criticised Johri for not being able to establish the identity of the seven Andhra cops. Senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani,representing former Minister of State (Home) Amit Shah in the case,had also on many occasions said in the court the CBI was not probing the AP Polices role because it is a Congress-ruled state.
