Ishrat Jahan case: BJP attempting to dilute fake encounters issue, accuses Congress

The party's comments come in the midst of reports claiming that an affidavit describing Ishrat as a LeT operative was signed by Chidambaram

Amid fresh claims on the role of former Home Minister P Chidambaram in the Ishrat Jahan case, Congress alleged there were deliberate attempts being made to dilute the basic issue of fake encounters.

"The issue was whether it was a fake or genuine encounter. The court has held that it was a fake encounter... Now reports are being planted to dilute the main issue," party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said.

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He further said that both the judicial magistrate  and high court had held that the case of Ishrat Jahan was a fake encounter.

Reports had it claiming that an affidavit describing Ishrat as a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative was signed by Chidambaram when he the home minister.

Ahmed's remarks came in retaliation, as BJP launched a sharp attack on Congress over the Ishrat Jahan case, accusing it of "encouraging the elimination" of Narendra Modi.

Citing a media report which claimed Chidambaram had signed the first affidavit, Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Congress, especially Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul, should take responsibility because Chidambaram did so as the party found it not strong enough to fight Modi politically.

Recent claims by former home secretary G K Pillai, former undersecretary in the home ministry RVS Mani, and former joint director Rajendra Kumar on the deposition by LeT operative David Headley suggested that an affidavit was filed on the basis of inputs from Maharashtra and Gujarat Police besides the Intelligence Bureau where it was said that the 19-year-old girl from Mumbai outskirts but it was ignored in the second affidavit.

A second affidavit, which officials claimed to have been drafted by Chidambaram, said there was no conclusive evidence to prove that Ishrat was a terrorist.