Statement of Sheikh’s wife under lens

The CBI is keenly looking at the revelations that the wife of Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai had made before the SIT that investigated the encounters of Ishrat Jahan and three others before the central agency took over the case.

Sources in the CBI said Sheikh's wife Sajida had made "startling revelations" on her husband before the Gujarat High Court-appointed SIT.

The most startling part in Sajida's statement, according to sources, is where she has reportedly said that Javed was shown photographs and videos of the 2002 riots on one of his visits to the Middle East in 2003-04. Javed used to go to Saudi Arabia often for his perfume business, they said.

Sajida had reportedly given a lengthy statement to the SIT that she was aware of Javed and Ishrat's whereabouts whenever the two were "together".

Sajida, who had claimed before the police of Ahmedabad (in 2005), Pune and Mumbai that she had never seen Ishrat, had told the SIT that Javed used to take Ishrat to various places in Maharashtra and even Uttar Pradesh before they were killed, sources said, adding, she confirmed that Javed used to run a perfume business in Pune where Ishrat was an accountant-cum-secretary.

A senior CBI officer said, "Sajida's statements have opened more loopholes in the case. It is really strange for a wife to give such statements to the police about her husband (Javed) having connections in Gulf countries where he was shown provocative videos and he is believed to have met some notorious elements too. She has also claimed that Javed did have cases of criminal offenses against him."

The CBI team, which has finished investigations in Mumbai, Pune, Kerela and Ibrahimpur (UP), is likely to visit Pune again to verify Sajida's statements.

Sources said Sajida's statements create more doubts about the circumstances under which she gave the statements and their authenticity, because she had first refused to talk to the police saying she knew nothing. Interestingly, SIT chairman RR Verma's final report before the HC had no mention of her statements.

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