Victim’s father pleads for time-bound CBI investigation

The SC,in its order on April 19,had directed the Chief Justice of the Gujarat HC to place the petitions of CBI probe into the killings before the Division Bench and to dispose it within six months.

Pillai’s lawyer Amrish Patel said: “Even after two months of the SC order,the petition has not been heard by the Division Bench of the HC. Therefore,we have moved the petition with a request for the compliance of the SC order at the earliest.”

On June 15,2004,Ahmedabad City Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) had killed four persons in an “encounter” near Kotarpur Waterworks in the periphery of Ahmedabad city. The four were identified as Javed,Amjad Ali Rana,Zeeshan Jauhar and Ishrat. DCB officials claimed that the four were on a mission to kill Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Following the incident,Gopinath Pillai and Ishrat’s mother,Shamima,had filed petitions in the High Court demanding a CBI probe into the encounter,calling it staged.

The HC,however,formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) consisting of three senior IPS officers of the Gujarat cadre to probe into the alleged fake encounter.

Meanwhile,Metropolitan Magistrate S P Tamang,who was conducting a judicial probe into the encounter,submitted his report calling the encounter “fake”.

The state government had challenged this report while questioning its validity. Following the state government’s petition,the HC stayed the Tamang Report.

Shamima and Pillai had also challenged the HC order to stay Tamang Report in the Supreme Court.

The SC had also directed the High Court to consider the maintainability of a petition by the state government challenging the Tamang Report.