Gujarat Minister resigns,still untraceable

Modi,who is here to attend a meeting of the National Development Council (NDC) meeting announced Shah’s resignation but contended that he was “completely innocent” and that the charges against him were “politically motivated” by the Congress government at the Centre.

The resignation of a man,considered a very close associate of Modi,did not not,however,impress the Congress which said it was “too little,too late”.

The resignation coming after resisting it for days and weeks was not not “graceful and voluntary”,said Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singh.

For the BJP top leadership and Modi to fully justify Shah’s actions showed there was no no “contrition,apology or acceptance” on their part,he said adding this was contempt of court.

However, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar contended that Shah should be congratulated for submitting his resignation and was only availing all options before law to face charges that “are well known to be false and concocted”.

Meanwhile,CBI continued its search for Shah,who along with two other accused accused Yashpal Chudasama and Ajay Patel,have gone underground.

“All three are key accused in the fake encounter case and we are searching for them,” CBI officials told PTI in Ahmedabad.

Teams from the Central agency,which filed a charge sheet in the case yesterday,are searching for the accused in various locations,they added.

Shah was exploring legal options after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the Special CBI Court yesterday,sources close to the minister said.

The charge sheet has named Shah as a key accused along with IPS officers D G Vanzara,Rajkumar Pandian,M N Dinesh and Abhay Chudasama. In all,15 accused have been named.

According to the charge sheet,it was Shah who had entrusted the task of eliminating Sheikh,an alleged gangster,to Vanzara,Pandia and Chudasama. Sheikh was killed in an encounter near here on November 26,2005.

The CBI is conducting a fresh probe into the encounter on the directions of the Supreme Court.