The hearing of the application of a police officer to turn approver in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh-Kausarbi murder case was adjourned on Tuesday to August 10.
The former Deputy Superintendent of Police, Narendra Amin, who is in jail, filed the application in the special CBI court. The eight co-accused police officers, including the three IPS officers D.G. Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandian and Dinesh M.N., had objected to his plea.
The CBI told the court that at present it did not require Mr. Amin's help as it had gathered strong evidence. The agency said it would take a statement from the police officer, on the basis of which it would decide whether to support his plea for turning approver.
Before joining the Gujarat police, Mr. Amin was a qualified medical practitioner. He is believed to have played a key role in the elimination of Kausarbi and was also a witness in the Sohrabuddin encounter. His turning approver is considered a threat to the accused police officers as well as the former Minister of State for Home, Amit Shah.
The hearing of the bail application of Raju Jirawala, owner of the Arham farmhouse near Gandhinagar, where Kausarbi was allegedly killed before her body was taken to Illol in Sabarkantha district for burning, was postponed to August 5.
The CBI has called some of the personal staff of Mr. Shah when he was the Minister and inquired about his working style and contacts. It also secured the renewal of the non-bailable warrants against alleged key accomplices of Mr. Shah – Ajay Patel and Yashpal Chudasma, chairman and director respectively of the Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank, who are absconding.
