Another Gujarat police officer arrested in Ishrat encounter case

The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested one more police officer in connection with the alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan and three others in 2004, officials of the agency said.

The CBI on Saturday evening arrested Police Inspector of Special Operation Group, Gandhinagar, Bharat Patel in the case. He was produced on Sunday before the court, along with suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police Tarun Barot, who was also arrested on Saturday.

Patel, who was the police sub-inspector with Crime Branch, Ahmedabad in 2004, was called by the CBI for questioning at its Gandhinagar office.

Metropolitan Magistrate A U Jujaru on Sunday ordered them to be sent to CBI custody for 24 hours.

In his remand application, Deputy Superintendent of Police, CBI, Special Crime Branch and Investigating Officer G Kalaimani, prayed for 14-day custody.

"The accused are police officers who were present at the scene of the crime and perpetrated the crime of conspiracy leading to murder and other offence," said CBI lawyer Abhishek Arora.

The CBI has alleged that Patel brought Amjadali Akbarali Rana, who was murdered on June 15, 2004 along with Ishrat Jahan, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai and Zeeshan Johar, to the scene of the crime and placed him blind-folded on the road divider. Rana was killed there and an AK-56 assault rifle was placed near his right hand.

"Patel knows the source of AK-56 and its ammunition; this needs to be discovered in the interest of investigation," Arora argued.

At the time of the alleged encounter, it was claimed by the police that Ishrat and others were part of the conspiracy to assassinate Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.