The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday filed a supplementary charge sheet in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh-Kausar Bi murder case before a special CBI court in Ahmedabad.
In the charge sheet filed before special CBI judge G.K. Upadhyaya, the CBI charged Rajendrakumar Jirawala, the owner of Arham farmhouse, where Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausar Bi were kept, with facilitating the co-accused and concealing the presence of the deceased before their elimination and subsequent destruction of evidence.
It was also stated that as per the corroboration by the personal assistant of IPS officer Geetha Johri, who at one stage was investigating the case, she had recorded on a note sheet that there was a systematic effort on the part of certain agencies, including the police, to tamper with the witnesses and evidences. Under the circumstances it was not possible for the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which at that point was headed by her, to meet the deadline set by the Supreme Court and the directions given by the apex court, she had noted. Ms. Johri also noted that “the government may please be, therefore, moved to hand over the case to the CBI for the purpose of meting out justice to the petitioners and maintain the image of the Gujarat police or making necessary changes in the SIT.”
The CBI claimed that as per Ms. Johri's notes, she was under tremendous pressure to tamper with the evidence and witnesses. The CBI has added 70 witnesses and 37 documentary evidences in support of the chargesheet.
Meanwhile, Ram Jethmalani, advocate of the former Minister of State for Home, Amit Shah, who is arguing for the former Minister's bail plea before the Gujarat High Court, termed the CBI court's decision to deny Mr. Shah bail one that showed complete lack of judicial balance.
Mr. Jethmalani said Sohrabuddin was an extortionist and a racketeer, and that the entire CBI exercise was politically motivated to tarnish Mr. Shah's reputation.
Mr. Jethmalani said the Gujarat police was honest in admitting that the encounter in which Sohrabuddin was killed was fake. “There is neither circumstantial evidence nor eyewitness to prove the conspiracy theory.”
