The Central Bureau of Investigation has opposed an application by former DIG D.G. Vanzara and seven other police officers, accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, objecting to co-accused N.K. Amin turning approver in the case.
In its reply filed in the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate A.Y. Dave, the CBI said the application of the eight accused objecting to Mr. Amin becoming approver, was “devoid of any merit and deserves to be rejected”.
The investigating agency further said that if the court allows Mr. Amin’s plea, further proceedings would take place as per the provisions of CrPC.
Mr. Amin had last week filed an application to become approver and had also asked the court to grant him pardon in the case.
CBI counsel Ejaz Khan submitted in the court that before considering Mr. Amin’s application for pardon his confessional statement needs to be recorded under CrPC 164(2).
And after verifying his statement, the CBI might consider his application of becoming an approver, Mr. Khan said.
The court has asked the CBI to file a written reply to Mr. Amin’s plea by August 10, when the next hearing is scheduled.
Eight policemen accused in the fake encounter case including suspended IPS officers Mr. Vanzara, Dinesh M.N. and Rajkumar Pandiyan have objected to Mr. Amin’s turning approver.
Mr. Amin, who is currently lodged in the Sabarmati jail along with other accused in the fake encounter case, was assistant commissioner of police of the city crime branch before being arrested in 2007, based on the statement of a witness involved in the abduction of Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bi.
His application came a day after the CBI arrested former Gujarat Minister of State for Home Amit Shah in the fake encounter case.
Mr. Amin had also asked for transfer from the Sabarmati jail saying he faces threat to his life from other accused in the case.
However, the court had rejected his application and directed the jail authorities to provide adequate security to Mr. Amin and keep him separate from other accused in the case.
Meanwhile, the CBI has sought seven-day remand of another accused Rajendra Jirawala, owner of the farm house where Sheikh and his wife were kept before being killed.
According to the CBI, Mr. Jirawala could prove to be a crucial witness in the case as he could provide information on who all visited his Arham farm where Sheikh and his wife were kept by Gujarat Police.
