CBI probe sought in Gujarat killing

GANDHINAGAR - The Gujarat High Court Thursday admitted a petition seeking transfer of the probe into the alleged staged shooting of Ishrat Jahan to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

A division bench of Justice Jayant Patel and Justice Z.K. Saiyed issued notices to the central government, the Gujarat government and the premier investigation agency and fixed the matter for final hearing July 14.

Petitioner Gopinathan Pillai, father of Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, who was killed in an alleged staged shooting by Gujarat Police, had moved an application before the high court to conduct an early hearing.

He had also sought directions to the CBI to probe the alleged staged shooting.

Ishrat Jahan, Javed Sheikh and two other alleged terrorists were killed in a staged shooting by the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) in 2004.

Gopinathan Pillai and Shamima Kausar, mother of Ishrat Jahan, pleaded for the probe to be handed over to the CBI.

Earlier, Metropolitan Magistrate S.P. Tamang in his inquiry concluded that the police had “cold bloodedly killed four persons” and that it was a staged shooting.

However, a court stayed the implementation of Tamang’s report. The court had said that the magistrate had prepared and submitted his report while a matter in this regard was pending before the high court.

The policemen accused of the killings have challenged Tamang’s report in the high court.

Pillai and Shamima thereafter moved the Supreme Court against the high court order staying the implementation of the Tamang report.