Ishrat Jahan case: Shah may not be named as accused in CBI charge sheet

Sources said name of Shah surfaced after one of the main accused D G Vanzara claimed that the minister had ditched him

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's close aide Amit Shah may not figure as an accused in the supplementary charge sheet which is likely to be filed soon by the CBI in Ishrat Jahan encounter case.

Official sources said the supplementary charge sheet is likely to carry details of Intelligence Bureau officials who were allegedly part of the conspiracy leading to the alleged fake encounter in which 19-year old Ishrat Jahan along with three others were killed.

The sources said name of Shah, BJP general secretary and UP incharge, surfaced after one of the main accused D G Vanzara claimed that the minister had ditched him and other police officials who have been booked by CBI in various encounter cases.

CBI has recently questioned Shah in connection with the Ishrat encounter case. The sources said he was questioned with regards to allegations levelled by Vanzara in his resignation letter.

The sources said Shah, who was Home Minister of Gujarat in 2004 when the encounter took place, was quizzed as jailed IPS officer Vanzara had claimed in his resignation letter that Gujarat government was "inspiring, guiding and monitoring" every police action from "very close quarters".

However, the sources said so far there CBI has not managed to gather enough evidence to prove his direct involvement in the encounter or the conspiracy which led to it.

The sources said Vanzara, during his questioning by CBI in Sabarmati Jail, had reiterated the stand taken by him in the resignation letter that police officials accused in various encounter cases were merely implementing "conscious policy" of the state government towards terrorism.

Vanzara had claimed, they said, in the resignation letter that he and other accused officials had implemented the "conscious policy of this government, which was inspiring, guiding and monitoring our actions from very close quarters".