The Ishrat Jahan encounter case has seen umpteen flip-flops in the past one week. The sheer mess that the Central Bureau of Investigation probing the genuineness of the encounter has created is destroying not just the faith of the common man in it, but is threatening to jeopardise India’s intelligence network, perhaps because of personal agendas aligning with political rivals of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Last week, news came in that CBI removed IPS officer Satish Verma from the team probing Ishrat Jahan case. Reportedly, Verma’s overzealousness in investigation and obsessive focus on the role of special Intelligence Bureau director Rajinder Kumar in the inputs vis-à-vis Ishrat Jahan’s LeT links, which a two-Judge Bench of the Gujarat High Court severely criticised last Friday, was the reason why Verma was asked to go. It is pertinent to know how Verma found himself on CBI’s probe team. After news came in that Ishrat Jahan and three others were killed in an encounter, relatives of Ishrat Jahan and another suspected LeT terrorist Javed Sheikh filed Public Interest Litigations asking for an impartial probe. The HC ordered setting up of a three-member Special Investigating Team to probe the encounter with the Central Government, State Government and, rather oddly, Ishrat Jahan’s mother having the right to appoint one member each. Ishrat Jahan case: Gujarat HC raps CBI for delay in filing charge sheet Is Congress playing dirty communal politics on Ishrat Jahan encounter death? While the need to assure citizens of a fair probe is unquestionable, rarely must it be the case that the court would placate a bereaving relative by allowing her to choose a member of an investigating team. Satish Verma was Ishrat’s mother’s nominee in the team. The SIT gave a report stating that the encounter was fake based on which HC ordered registration of an FIR and transferred the case to CBI. Again, rather oddly, the HC told CBI that it could engage Verma’s services if it desired. Although CBI had removed Verma last week, as noted above, CBI’s lawyer reportedly told the Gujarat HC on Friday that CBI did, in fact, want Verma to be a part of the investigation! This contradiction is now academic given HC’s order that Verma would continue to be on the team. Yet, it signifies how the CBI has awfully messed up this investigation. The most troubling aspect about Verma being on the team probing these fake encounters is that he has been accused of rather horrific custodial death allegations. Back in 1997, three individuals were found dead allegedly while in police custody. One of them was found hanging on a tree near a police station which police claimed was a suicide. Ishrat case: Contempt petition against Jaitley withdrawn Centre misusing IB for political gains: BJP niticentral/?p=91281
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 02:56:54 +0000
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