All the remaining 22 accused in Sohrabuddin Shaikh Fake Encounter Case have been acquitted by a special CBI court on Friday, December 21, on the basis that the evidence that has been provided was not satisfactory.
Special judge S.J. Sharma said “I feel extremely sorry for the family of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, and Tulsiram Prajapati, especially his mother Narmadabai. But the evidence before me could not establish the roles of any person accused in the case…[there is] no material evidence to prove any charges against the accused.”
According to The Wire; the 22 persons acquitted by a special CBI court in the alleged fake encounter killings of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi and his aide Tulsi Prajapati are;
1. M.L. Parmar, then deputy Superintendent of police, Gujarat ATS
2. N.H. Dhabi, police inspector, Gujarat ATS
3. Balkrishna Chaubey, then sub inspector, Gujarat police, now an inspector
4. Abdul Rehman, police inspector, Rajasthan
5. Himanshu Singh Rajawat, sub inspector, Rajasthan police
6. Shyam Singh Charan, sub inspector, Rajasthan
7. Ajay Kumar Parmar, police inspector, Gujarat
8. Santaram Sharma, police constable, Gujarat police
9. Naresh Chauhan, police inspector, Gujarat police
10. Vijay Kumar Rathod, inspector, Gujarat police
11. Rajendra Kumar Jirawala, owner of Arham Farm, Ahmedabad, where Kausar Bi was allegedly kept for four days before she was killed.
12. Ghattamaneni Shriniwas Rao, sub inspector, Andhra Pradesh police
13. Aashish Pandya, sub inspector, Gujarat police
14. Narayan Singh Chauhan, ASI, Rajasthan police
15. Yuvdhvir Singh Chauhan, police constable, Rajasthan
16. Kartar Singh Jat, police constable, Rajasthan
17. Jethusingh Solanki, constable, Gujarat police
18. Kanjibhai Kutchi, constable, Gujarat police
19. Vinod Kumar Limbachiya, constable, Gujarat police
20. Kiransinh Chauhan, head constable, Gujarat police
21. Karan Sihn Sisodiya, constable, Gujarat police
22. Ramanbhai Patel, deputy SP, Gujarat police
According to The Wire; court had earlier discharged following 16 of the 38 persons chargesheeted by the CBI;
- Amit Shah, Minister of State, Home, Gujarat: The CBI said Shah was aware of the conspiracy to abduct and kill Sheikh. The investigating agency cited certain call records of conversations between Shah and some IPS officers accused in the case as evidence against the BJP chief. The court discharged Shah in 2014 citing insufficient grounds to frame charges.
- Gulab Chand Kataria, Rajasthan home minister: Kataria was accused of being part of the conspiracy to kill Shaikh at the behest of Rajasthan’s marble traders’ lobby. He was discharged in 2015 on the grounds insufficient evidence.
- D.G. Vanzara, DIG, Gujarat Anti Terrorism Squad: Special CBI court judge S.J. Sharma discharged him in 2017 saying the prosecution had not cited any evidence about his presence at the site of either the abduction or the killing of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, Kausar Bi or Tulsiram Prajapati and the role attributed to him fell within the sphere of discharge of official duty.
- Rajkumar Pandian, SP Gujarat police: As per the CBI, he was part of the team that abducted Sohrabuddin Shaikh and Kausar Bi and actively participated in the conspiracy since its inception. He was discharged in 2016 citing the lack of official sanction to prosecute him.
- Dinesh M.N., SP Rajasthan: The CBI said he facilitated Tulsiram Prajapati’s alleged fake encounter and was also a conspirator. The trial court discharged him in 2017, saying there was no prime facie evidence against him and the CBI also did not have official sanction for his prosecution.
- Narendra Amin, deputy SP, Gujarat: As per the CBI, he was present when Kausar Bi’s body was disposed. The trial court discharged in 2016 him for lack of evidence.
- Abhay Chudasama, SP Gujart: As per the CBI, Chudasama played a key role in conspiring to kill Sohrabuddin Shaikh. He allegedly also threatened key witnesses and tried to influence Shaikh’s relatives to withdraw their Supreme Court writ. Chudasama was discharged in 2015 due to lack of evidence.
- Ajay Patel, a private person from Gujarat: The CBI said he pressured witnesses. The court discharged him in 2014 for lack of evidence.
- Yashpal Singh Chudasama, a private person from Gujarat: The CBI said Chudasama coerced witnesses. Chudasama claimed he was booked only to be able to build a case against Amit Shah. He was discharged in 2015 for lack of evidence.
- Vimal Patni, marble trader, Rajasthan: The CBI alleged Shaikh tried to extort money from Patni after which the latter called Gulab Chand Kataria, former Rajasthan home minister. Kataria then supposedly called Amit Shah, who instructed the Gujarat police to search for Shaikh. Patni was discharged along with Kataria in 2015 for lack of evidence.
- N.L. Balasubramanyam, SP, Andhra Pradesh police: As per the CBI, Shaikh, Kausar Bi and Prajapati were abducted when they were traveling from Hyderabad to Sangli. The prosecution alleged that Balasubramanyam accommodated Pandian in Hyderabad and was aware of the conspiracy to kill Shaikh. He allegedly also asked his junior officers to travel with the Gujarat police for Shaikh’s abduction. The court discharged him for lack of evidence in 2015.
- Dalpat Singh Rathod, head constable, Rajasthan police: Rathod was allegedly part of Prajapati’s killing. He was discharged in 2017 for lack of sanction to prosecute.
- Prashant Pande, DCP, Gujarat: Pande allegedly delayed the investigation and was also part of a meeting with Shah where instructions to protect the accused were given. The court discharged him in 2015 for lack of sanction to prosecute.
- Geeta Johri, IGP, Gujarat: The CBI alleged Johri delayed the investigation and even destroyed some case records. The court discharged for lack of sanction to prosecute.
- Om Prakash Mathur, additional DGP, Gujarat: He was accused of delaying the investigation. He was discharged in 2015 for lack of evidence.
- Vipul Aggarwal, SP, Gujarat: As per the CBI, he ordered the destruction of leave records of the cop who shot Prajapati and was thus a co-conspirator. The special CBI court initially rejected his discharge plea saying there was prima facie evidence against him. The Bombay high court, however, granted his discharge in September this year.
According to the CBI, Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi and his aide Prajapati were abducted by Gujarat police from a bus when they were on their way to Sangli in Maharashtra from Hyderabad on the night of November 22 and 23, 2005.
As per The Wire, “Shaikh was killed in an alleged fake encounter on November 26, 2005 near Ahmedabad. His wife was killed three days later and her body was disposed of, the CBI said. A year later, on December 27, 2006, Prajapati was also shot dead by Gujarat and Rajasthan police in an alleged fake encounter near Chapri on Gujarat-Rajasthan border.”
“Between March 2012 and June 2012, J.T. Utpat heard the case before being succeeded by Judge B.H. Loya, who heard the case from June 2014 till his death in December 2014. His successor Madan Gosavi heard the case till June 2017, discharging some of the accused, including Shah. The case is currently being heard by Special Judge S.J. Sharma, who in 2017 had discharged three accused, including former Gujarat DIG D.G. Vanzara and IPS officer Dinesh M.N.”, reported The Wire.
Witnesses have claimed that they have been threatened and faced intimidation from the policemen facing trial.
