Two cops refused to shoot Ishrat, others, finds CBI
Published: 05th July 2013 07:55 AM | Last Updated: 05th July 2013 07:55 AM | A+A A-
Two members of the police team that gunned down 19-year-old Ishrat Jehan and three others in the 2004 fake encounter had refused to open fire on them, CBI investigations into the case have revealed.
CBI sources said after two police officers — Mohan Nanji and I K Chauhan — in the team refused to fire, other team members Tarun Barot and Mohan Kalaswa snatched the firearms from them and opened fire on Ishrat Jehan, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar. A total of 70 rounds were fired, with Kalaswa firing 32 rounds from an AK-47 and 10 rounds from Nanji’s gun. Police officer Barot fired six rounds, J J Parmar four rounds, and N K Amin five rounds.
In the last week of April 2004, then ACP G L Singhal and other officers from the subsidiary Intelligence Bureau secured the ‘illegal custody’ of Zeeshan Johar. On May 26, 2004, Amin, Barot and members of the subsidiary bureau abducted Amjadali Akbarali Rana from the outskirts of Ahmedabad.
On June 12, 2004, Amin and Barot, with the assistance of State intelligence bureau, abducted Ishrat at Vasad in Anand district. Subsequently, Amin, DIG DG Vanzara and officers of the subsidiary bureau met the accused in custody. On June 13, a meeting was held between Vanzara, senior police officer P P Pandey and Rajinder Kumar, then joint director of the subsidiary IB. Vanzara drafted the FIR on June 14. On June 15, at 4 am, two constables of the crime branch brought Zeeshan, Javed and Ishrat to a spot on the highway between Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar. Later, Amjadali was brought by another constable separately.