'Tutoring' of key witness in Ishrat case: Cong for SC's suo

Congress today made a strong pitch for Supreme Court taking suo motu action in the wake of news reports suggesting that the head of the inquiry into the missing Ishrat Jahan papers had tutored a key witness about how he should answer questions that will be put to him.
Congress spokesman Anand Sharma alleged that the government was preparing a "doctored" report on the missing files in the Ishrat case.
This "fixing" was the work of the "dirty tricks department" of the government which is coordinated by the PMO, he told a media briefing at the AICC.
"The investigation has been 'fixed'. This was simply a show. The nation has to realise now we have a dirty tricks department coordinated by PMO," he said claiming that the whole attempt is to "deflect and divert" attention from issues before the Gujarat High Court in the case.

Sharma's attack on the government came close on the heels of an Indian Express report which suggested that B K Prasad, a senior Home Ministry official, had coached a former official of the same ministry in April on questions that he would be putting to him and how he should answer that he had never seen the purported missing papers.
Reacting to the news report, party leader and former Home Minister P Chidambaram said the news report "comprehensively exposed the fake controversy" created by the NDA government on the two affidavits filed by the central government in the case.

Sharma lamented that the government was carrying out an investigation inside the Home Ministry just for a "show" and even that they are "fixing" as they are attempting to "save" the accused in the case.

"They want that in this issue, which metropolitan
magistrate and Gujarat High Court called a fake encounter, the case should be scuttled," he said, adding that the Supreme Court should take suo motu action against this.
Besides, he said that documents just don't go missing between the Home Ministry and Attorney General.
"One thing is certain is that they have tampered with documents," he alleged.
Recalling that the Congress raised the issue of phone tapping in Parliament, Sharma alleged that phones of political leaders, industrialists and even judges are being tapped.
"Their job is to leak info to certain agencies, tamper with reports, slander political opponents and carry surveillance of top officials," he said about the work of the "dirty tricks department".

Sharma said in such a backdrop, the Supreme Court should "intervene, take note, ensure that the Constitution is respected and rule of law prevails irrespective of issues, matters and personalities involved" as "this cannot be left to this governed".