Ishrat Jahan's family fear for their lives, demand justice

Family members of fake encounter victim Ishrat Jahan have reportedly expressed fear about their safety, claiming that certain elements, including anti-social ones, are intimidating them.

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Addressing media in Mumbai on Thursday, they said certain elements were trying to derail the investigation that is now probing the role of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officers in the case.

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The Crime Branch of Gujarat Police is reported to have killed 19-year-old Ishrat Jahan, an alleged operative of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, in a shootout during on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in 2004.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a charge sheet on July 3 and concluded that Ishrat was not a militant.

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Ishrat's sister, Nusrat Jahan, claimed that her family is being harassed by police officers who were supposed to provide security.

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"At about 2:30 a.m., some people knocked at our door. My family and I asked who was at the door repeatedly and then they told us that they were policemen who were meant to guard us. They replied in hushed voices that they wanted to talk to us, as they were present outside the house for our security. Which government or law book allows police to harass its citizens at 2:30 a.m.? All possible efforts are being made to intimidate us. We are not safe," said Nusrat Jahan.

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In 2009, a metropolitan judge in Ahmedabad ruled in 2009 that Jahan's shootout was 'fake', pricking holes in the sequence of events provided by the state police and renewing demands for a fresh probe into the incident.

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According to media reports, investigating officer Sandeep Tamgadge, who is based in Nagpur, has also received death threats in the past few days.

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Social activist Shabnam Hashmi said: "We have come to know through sources that there is a grave threat to the family of Ishrat Jahan and those who are supporting them which mainly include Rauf and Munnabhai. There are indications that have been taking place from the past week and there is information from different sources which has reached us and says that things could become very dirty."

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She added: "The inquiry that was taking place till now had only police officers of Gujarat in its ambit, but now the inquiry is at a stage where the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is questioning Intelligence Bureau (IB) officers. The role of senior officers and politicians in the case is now being examined and startling facts are coming to light." So many people have also been silenced, using power."

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According to the police, Jahan and her accomplices were involved in a sinister plot to assassinate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

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Modi's government was widely criticised for its perceived hesitancy in stopping the carnage targeting Muslims across Gujarat after the February 2002 train burning incident in Godhra which claimed the lives of over 55 Hindu pilgrims.