By IANS
New Delhi : The Supreme Court Friday received two pleas to prosecute Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi for the staged police shootout of Muslim youth Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bi in November 2005.
The appeals, filed by Sohrabuddin’s brother Rubabuddin Sheikh and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL), will be heard Monday by a bench headed by Justice Tarun Chatterjee.
CPIL counsel Prashant Bhushan said the bench must direct the Election Commission to cancel Modi’s candidature for inciting and aggravating communal hatred in the state for electoral gains.
Counsel for Rubabuddin Sheikh told the bench that his client had all along feared that Sohrabuddin had been killed in a conspiracy plotted personally by Modi.
In a recent poll campaign speech, the chief minister had clearly owned up to the killings, argued the counsel, adding that Modi’s role needed to be investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
He also demanded the transfer of the trial from the courts outside the state.
The counsel said Modi’s statement was a blot on the democracy of the country and questioned the authority of the Supreme Court.
Sohrabuddin was killed in a shootout on Nov 26, 2005. Police had then claimed he was a terrorist and was planning to target Modi. However, a CID enquiry showed that Sheikh was merely a petty criminal and the shootout was staged.
His wife, Kauser Bi, was also with him at the time of the encounter and was killed by the policemen. Her body was later burnt and disposed of.