Ishrat case: CBI not to challenge Vanzara and Amin's discharge

The CBI on Thursday informed a court here that it will not challenge the discharge of former police officers D G Vanzara and N K Amin in the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case.

CBI lawyer R C Kodekar conveyed the decision in a written submission before special CBI judge R K Chudawala.

The court scheduled further hearing for August 9.

On May 2, the CBI court discharged Vanzara and Amin in the case on the ground that the state government had not given sanction for their prosecution.

The court had noted that under section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, government's sanction is necessary for the prosecution of a public servant.

The remaining four accused policemen -- G L Singhal, Tarun Barot, Anaju Chaudhary and J G Parmar -- are now likely to approach the CBI court seeking discharge, legal sources said.

Singhal, an IPS officer, is currently Inspector General of the Commando Training Centre in Gandhinagar.

Chaudhary, a commando of State Reserve Police, is also in service, while Barot and Parmar have retired.

Prior to Vanzara and Amin, the court had discharged former IPS officer P P Pandey from the case.

Ishrat, a 19-year-old girl from Mumbra near Mumbai, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed by Gujarat Police in an alleged encounter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.

The police claimed they were terrorists who were planning to kill then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, while the CBI, which probed the case on the high court's order, claimed that it was a fake encounter.