Special CBI Court Discharges 3 Gujarat Cops In Ishrat Jahan Encounter Case

Ahmedabad: A special CBI court today discharged police officers GL Singhal, Tarun Barot and Anaju Chaudhary in the 2004 Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case.

Special CBI judge VR Raval allowed the discharge applications of Mr Singhal, Mr Barot (now retired) and Mr Chaudhary.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on March 20 conveyed to the court that the state government had declined prosecution sanction against the three accused.

The court in its October 2020 order observed that they had “acted in their official duties,” so the probe agency was required to obtain prosecution sanction.

Ishrat Jahan, a 19-year-old woman from Mumbra near Mumbai, was killed along with Javed Shaikh (alias Pranesh Pillai), Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar by Gujarat police in an ‘encounter’ near Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.

The police had said that the four were terrorists who were planning to assassinate then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

However, a high court-appointed Special Investigation Team concluded that the encounter was fake, after which the CBI registered a case against various police officials. (Agency)