Without the encounters, Pakistan may have killed PM Modi: DG Vanzara

Vanzara, who was initially a prime accused in the Sohrabuddin-Kausar Bi alleged fake encounter case but was exonerated by the special CBI court 3 years back

Controversial retired IPS officer DG Vanzara on Friday asserted that had it not been for the "genuine encounters" by the Gujarat police, Pakistan might have been successful in its design to assassinate the then chief minister and now Prime Minister Narendra Modi and turn the state into another Kashmir.

In a statement after the special CBI's court's judgement in the Sohrabuddin-Tulsiram Prajapti encounter case in Mumbai on Friday, Vanzara, who was earlier an accused in the case, said the police personnel of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh were made scapegoats in the "political war" between the then BJP government in the state and the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.

"The CBI court's judgement acquitting all the 22 accused police officers in the Sohrabuddin encounter case has only corroborated the claims I had been making right from the beginning that none of these encounters was stage-managed but were all genuine to annihilate the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists who had been coming to Gujarat with the mission to kill Modiji.

"But for the encounters, it might have become difficult to ensure the safety of Modiji and Pakistan by now would have succeeded in turning Gujarat into another terrorist-ridden Kashmir," he said.

Vanzara, who was initially a prime accused in the Sohrabuddin-Kausar Bi alleged fake encounter case but was exonerated by the special CBI court three years back, held some "anti-national elements" were responsible for turning the genuine encounter incidents into fake ones to assist the terror groups and harass the honest police officers.

He claimed that the Gujarat police had accurate information about the movements of the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists and acted swiftly to "ensure the safety of the country and protect the life of the then chief minister who was under constant threat."

Meanwhile, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel hailed the CBI court's judgment and accused the former UPA government of trying to tarnish the Modi dispensation in Gujarat in the name of "fake encounter."

Patel also promised to consider restoration of the genuine promotions and other benefits due to the accused police officers in the last 13 years because of the pending case, now that they had been acquitted of all the charges.