CBI claims to have got new evidence in Ishrat case

The circumstantial evidence might help in giving location of some accused persons at the time of the crime

CBI has claimed to have laid their hands on new evidence in connection with its probe into Ishrat Jahan fake encounter killing case which would help in buttressing its investigation into the larger conspiracy behind the incident.

The sources said the agency is analysing the "circumstantial evidence" which might help in giving location of some accused persons at the time of the crime.

They said the agency might also question former Special Director of Intelligence Bureau Rajinder Kumar, now retired, in the light of the new evidence.

The sources said they would try to file the supplementary charge sheet in the case giving details of the conspiracy behind the incident in which 19-year old Ishrat and three others Javed Sheikh, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed by Gujarat police in June, 2004.

CBI's charge sheet accuses seven police officers of Gujarat Police of murder, kidnapping and other related crimes under the Indian Penal Code.

CBI is also ascertaining the authenticity of tapes of purported conversations of Gujarat government officials discussing ways to help the accused police personnel in the case, the sources said.

The agency had submitted the tapes to the trial court in Ahmedabad in a sealed cover and would refer to these conversations in its supplementary charge sheet, they said.

CBI, probing the case, has been able to get detailed information about Ishrat and Javed as it included the statements of their relatives and people known to them in the charge sheet filed on July three.

It has so far not been able to reach any conclusive point on the identity of Johar and Rana. CBI has in its charge sheet neither given any details about the antecendents of the duo nor the motive behind their presence in Gujarat.