Ishrat was a terrorist, BJP members tell panel

The controversy over the CBI questioning Intelligence Bureau officer Rajendra Kumar in the Ishrat Jahan shootout figured in the consultative meeting of the home ministry Tuesday with the BJP members stating that she and her associates killed in the incident were members of terror outfit Lashker-e-Taiba.

The issue was raised by BJP MPs Vinay Katiyar and Yogi Aditya Nath.

The BJP leaders alleged Ishrat Jahan was a terrorist as her name had figured in the website of LeT.

They said Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) move to prosecute Rajendra Kumar could breed ill-feeling among IB officials.

The BJP leaders said politicising the issue was wrong and made veiled reference to party leader Amit Shah being linked to the case.

Talking to IANS later, Katiyar said "attempts to implicate IB official in the case were totally wrong".

He said Ishrat and her associates were members of LeT.

"She went to Faizabad and police is still making investigations about the family with whom she stayed," he said.

Mumbai college girl Ishrat Jahan, Pranesh Gopinath Pillai, Amjad Ali and Jishan Johar were killed by Gujarat Police in a shootout in Ahmedabad in 2004.

The CBI will file preliminary charge sheet in shootout case before the Gujarat High Court by July 4 and may seek more time to probe the conspiracy angle.

Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde told the consultative committee meeting that the government has taken a series of steps to combat terrorism.