NEW DELHI, 18 May 2007 — In a relief of sorts for the Gujarat government, the Supreme Court yesterday rejected the plea for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the fake encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bi by the state police.
A bench of Justices Tarun Chatterjee and P.K. Balasubramanian ruled that the Gujarat police appeared to be “on the right track.” The central government and Sohrabbudin’s brother, Rubabuddin Sheikh, had appealed for a CBI probe.
The court ruled that Inspector General of Police Geeta Johri, who heads the Gujarat police’s Crime Investigation Department, continue with the probe and file a final report in the case by July 3. Johri will report to the court directly. The police of three states, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, allegedly colluded to murder Sohrabuddin on Nov. 26 near Ahmedabad, his wife, Kausar Bi, was murdered two days later as part of a cover-up.
Rubabuddin last week requested the Supreme Court to order the CBI to probe the couple’s deaths, saying he didn’t trust the Gujarat police. Rubabuddin’s lawyer, Ejaz Maqbool, welcomed the court’s decision.
“I feel that the court’s most important decision is that they kept the matter pending and directed the officer who is investigating into the case not to take any directions from the state director general of police and that report directly to the court. I think that this will lead to a fair investigation into the matter,” he said.
The Gujarat police, in an action-taken-report before the court, has admitted that Kausar Bi was killed and her body was burned.
Three senior police officers, D.G. Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandian and M.N. Dinesh, have been arrested in connection with the couple’s deaths.
