Ishrat case: CBI court adjourns hearing of Vanzara's bail plea

A special court for Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases here today adjourned the hearing on the bail plea of retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer D G Vanzara in Ishrat Jahan fake encounter killing case.
Special CBI court judge Geeta Gopi adjourned the hearing on Vanzara's bail plea and posted it on November 5.
CBI, which is the prosecuting agency, had earlier opposed Vanzara's bail plea and said releasing a politically- influential person like him could hamper the probe into the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.
In July last year, CBI had filed its first charge sheet and named Vanzara along with seven other Gujarat police personnel including three IPS officers P P Pandey, N K Amin and G L Singhal as accused.

The probe agency accused them of murder and criminal conspiracy with regard to the 'encounter' killing of 19-year-old college student Ishrat Jahan, Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in June 2004.
CBI said the 'encounter' was fake and carried out jointly by the Gujarat police and the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

Vanzara (60), a former Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) rank officer, was suspended after his arrest in April 2007 and was sent behind the bars in a string of fake encounter cases.
Vanzara had resigned from service on September 1, 2013, accusing the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi-led government of having failed to protect the interest of policemen jailed for 'encounters' while implementing Gujarat government's "conscious policy" of eliminating "terrorism".

Vanzara retired in Sabarmati Jail on May 31.