Amit Shah admitted to hospital, sent back to jail

The former Gujarat Minister, Amit Shah, a prime accused in the Sohrabuddin–Kausar Bi murder case, was granted yet another exemption from appearing before the CBI Special Court through videoconferencing as he was admitted to hospital on Wednesday morning.

Mr. Shah, who was to have been presented before the court, complained of eye irritation and other complications in the morning. He was moved to the Government Civil Hospital where he was diagnosed to be suffering from blood pressure and eye infection. He, however, was sent back to the Sabarmati central jail in the evening after treatment.

The CBI told Special Court judge A. Y. Dave of his admission to hospital and the court extended his judicial custody till September 29. He was asked to be presented before the court through videoconferencing that day.

Mr. Shah was earlier exempted by the court from appearing in person on security grounds and permitted him to be presented through videoconferencing.

This was the second time that the former Minister was admitted to the civil hospital since his arrest by the CBI on July 25. On August 31, he was admitted to the hospital for a week after he complained of chest pain when he was due to be presented through videoconferencing on September 3.

Files affidavit

Meanwhile, nearly 50 days after the CBI filed the charge sheets against the accused in the Sohrabuddin case in the Special Court on July 23, one of the younger brothers of the fake encounter victim, Naemuddin, is claimed to have filed an affidavit disowning some of the points attributed to him in the charge sheet against the former Deputy Police Commissioner of Ahmedabad, Abhay Chudasma, a prime accused and the only police officer to be arrested by the CBI.

All other 14 police officers in jail in connection with the Sohrabuddin case were arrested by the CID (Crime), which was investigating the case before the CBI.

Mr. Naemuddin, who sent the affidavit by registered post from his house in Madhya Pradesh, claimed that he had never told the CBI that he was pressured by Mr. Chudasma to get the petition in the Supreme Court seeking fresh investigation of the case withdrawn. He was also not “threatened” by the police officer or received any inducements from him for the job. The petition in the Supreme Court was filed by his other brother, Rubabuddin.

The affidavit, written in Hindi on a stamp paper, was dated September 9. It was received by the court here on Tuesday. It accompanied a covering letter containing the same content and was also written in Hindi. Mr. Naemuddin admitted that he came to know about the charge sheet the very next day of its filing in the Special Court, but did not explain why it took him more than a month and half to contradict it. The affidavit, however, did not contest other points in the nearly 2,000 pages of the charge sheet.