Gujarat HC questions reinstatement of 'encounter' cops

The Gujarat High Court on Wednesday took strict cognizance of the contractual appointment of two retired police officers, N.K. Amin and Tarun Barot, accused in the sensational Ishrat Jehan and other fake encounter cases, following a public interest litigation and asked the state government to submit details about it.

A division bench of Chief Justice R. Subhash Reddy and Justice V.M. Pancholi asked government pleader Manisha Luvkumar to seek instructions from the government over the appointments of both the retired police officials.

Amin, who was chargesheeted in fake encounter cases of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife Kauserbi and accomplice Tulsi Prajapati and that of Ishrat Jehan, Javed Sheikh, Amjad Ali Akbar Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar, has recently been put in charge as Superintendent of Police of Mahisagar district on a year-old contract by the Gujarat government.

Barot, who is also an accused in the two fake encounter cases, has been made District Superintendent of Police, Western Railways, Vadodara, on a contractual posting of one year.

Both the retired police officials had been arrested in these cases and sent to jail. While Amin has been discharged in the Sohrabuddin encounter, the case of Ishrat Jehan is still pending before the trial court.

It is for this reason that retired IPS official Rahul Sharma approached the Gujarat High Court, seeking cancellation of their appointments, pointing out that it was "against the existing rules".

"The aforesaid contractual appointments of retired police officers with criminal antecedents is not in the interest of a healthy police administration...They are against the provisions of the Gujarat Police Act, as also contrary to the directions issued through various circulars of the government of Gujarat," the petitioner submitted in the court.

The court, however, rejected Sharma's plea for an interim stay on the appointments and posted the next hearing for November 16.

--IANS

desai/rn