Govt to reply to HC on Pandey's appointment as DGP on Friday

The Gujarat government will file a reply in the high court on Friday on a PIL challenging the appointment of P P Pandey, an accused in the Ishrat Jahan case, as the state's in-charge DGP.
This was conveyed to the Gujarat High Court by the state government today in response to the PIL filed by former top cop Julio Rebeiro.
A division bench of Chief Justice R Subhash Reddy and Justice V M Pancholi had during last hearing on May 4 asked the public prosecutor to take instruction from the state government.
In his PIL, Rebeiro has said that Pandey, who is an accused in the alleged fake encounter case of Ishrat Jahan and three others and is out on bail, could hamper the investigation and influence witnesses in the case.

Rebeiro has served as the DGP of Gujarat and Punjab, the latter during the height of insurgency, and is credited for his contribution.
The PIL has said that Pandey's authority and influence as DGP will affect witnesses many of whom are serving police officers.

Pandey was jailed after Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the case, chargesheeted him along with other police officials in the encounter case.
After being released on bail, he was taken back in the service in February last year and was made the director of Anti-Corruption Bureau. A case against him is pending in an Ahmedabad court.

On April 16, he took took over as in-charge DGP of Gujarat following unexpected transfer of incumbent P C Thakur to Delhi.
Ishrat (19), Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillay, Amjadali Akabarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an alleged fake encounter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.
Gujarat Police had then claimed that the four with links to Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba, had come to the city to kill then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.