By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
Mumbai : Rubabuddin Shaikh, the brother of Sohrabuddin Shaikh who was killed in a fake encounter by the Gujarat ATS, has withdrawn his petition challenging BJP president Amit Shah’s discharge from the Sohrabuddin Shaikh and Tulsiram Prajapati fake encounter case on grounds of ill health.
On October 6, in a decision that had surprised his lawyers, the brother of Sohrabuddin had told the Bombay High Court that he wanted to withdraw his petition filed in September challenging Amit Shah’s discharge and cited a communication gap between him and his counsel.
The High Court had given him one month time to rethink over his decision and to ascertain whether the move was voluntary or not.
“On being questioned, the applicant [Rubabuddin] has stated that he is seeking to withdraw the applications voluntarily and he is not under pressure, threat or coercion from any person to withdraw the applications. It is necessary to ascertain whether the withdrawal is voluntary.” reads the then issued High Court order.
Rubabuddin was then quoted by The Hindu as saying that he was under tension and feels too helpless to pursue the matter.
“Mei mansik roop se bahut pareshan hu aur asamarth hun. Isliye vapas liya. Isse jyada mei kuch nahi bol sakta [I am mentally troubled and feeling helpless. That’s why I have decided to withdraw. I can’t say anything more],” he had told The Hindu.
On Monday, November 24, when Justice AV Nirgude asked Rubabuddin if he still wanted to withdraw the petition, he replied in the affirmative. The court accepted his statement and permitted withdrawal of the plea.
The encounter cases of Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram Prajapati were clubbed and transferred from an Ahmedabad court to the Mumbai court in 2012 following a Supreme Court order.
The Mumbai court gave the discharge order while hearing interim applications of 38 accused, including Shah.
On December 30, 2014, after BJP rose to power in centre, a CBI court in Mumbai had discharged Amit Shah in the alleged fake encounter case on the grounds that there was no evidence suggesting his role and the implication was totally politically motivated.
Importantly in January 2007, Rubabuddin had written to then Chief Justice of India alleging that Sohrabuddin was killed in a fake encounter by a team of Gujarat Anti Terror Squad (ATS) in 2005. The Apex Court then directed the state police to conduct a probe which led to implications of high profile politicians and 10 police officers who were subsequently arrested for the killings of Sheikh and Prajapati.
But most of the police officers came out on bail and were reinstated and promoted by the Gujarat government. This included IPS officer Abhay Chudasama, who was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in April 2014, and subsequently promoted to the rank of a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) this year.
According to the CBI, gangster Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauser Bi were abducted by Gujarat’s ATS when they were on way from Hyderabad to Sangli in Maharashtra, and killed in an alleged fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005. Prajapati, a key witness to the alleged fake encounter, was killed by police at Chapri village, Banaskantha district of Gujarat, in December 2006.