Ishrat Jahan case: CBI seeks Gujarat government consent to prosecute DG Vanzara, NK Amin

AHMEDABAD: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday informed a special court here that it has sought permission from the Gujarat government under section of 197 of the CRPC for the prosecution of former IPS DG Vanzara and another senior ex-cop NK Amin in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case.

Police had chased and gunned down four alleged terrorists (19-year-old Ishrat Jahan, Pranyesh Pillai alias Javed Shaikh and two Pakistani nationals).

Police said their vehicle was pursued from Narol circle to Naroda.

Vanzara and other accused police officers in the case had maintained that the four were operatives of the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Toiba who had arrived in Ahmedabad to assassinate the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

The special CBI court of designated judge J K Pandya had on August 7 rejected the discharge pleas of Vanzara and Amin, both of whom were present in the court during hearing today.

CBI sought one month time from the court which was granted and it fixed November 22 as the next date of hearing.

Discharge pleas were opposed by CBI and Ishrat's mother Shamina Kaushar.

The court had rejected the pleas concluding that Amin and Vanzara were directly involved in the encounter.

Their role was different from that of former top police official P P Pandey who was earlier discharged in the case in February this year by the same court and with whom the duo had compared them during the course of the argument.

The two had asserted that the encounter was a genuine one and the case lodged by CBI against them was politically motivated to frame them.

Vanzara's counsel had argued that the encounter was genuine and on June 15, 2004, borders of Ahmedabad city were sealed by police, based on Intelligence Bureau inputs.

Even the police officials on leave on that day were recalled to join duty.

Senior police officials had visited the spot.

Besides, videography was carried out and a forensics team was also involved.