By TCN Staff Writer,
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court today appointed a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to probe into the killing of Mumbai girl Ishrat Jahan along with three other persons. The high court passed the order rejecting Narendra Modi government plea to hand over the case to the state police.
Mumbai-based Jahan, 19, was killed in an encounter along with Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar by Gujarat crime branch officials near Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. The state police had claimed Ishrat and the three others were Lashkar-e-Toiba operatives on a mission to kill Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
A magisterial inquiry by Justice SP Tamang found the encounter was fake executed by policemen who wanted to win Modi’s appreciation, promotions and medals. The state government challenged Tamang’s finding in the Gujarat High Court which stayed the Tamang report. Ishrat’s mother asked for a CBI inquiry into the case, but this was rejected by the Supreme Court.
The new SIT appointed today by Gujarat High Court will consist of two members of the Gujarat Police and a representative of the Delhi Police. According to media reports, the SIT will be headed by Delhi Police Joint Commissioner Karnail Singh. The two other members of the SIT are Mohan Jha and Satish Verma, both Gujarat cadre IPS officers.
[Photo by NDTV]