Team probing Ishrat Jahan killing seeks legal help

GANDHINAGAR - The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the 2004 Ishrat Jahan staged shootout case has filed a petition before the Gujarat High Court seeking appointment of a lawyer to assist in the probe.

Chairperson of the high court-appointed SIT Karnail Singh has sought the appointment of an amicus curiae, a lawyer tasked by court, to assist the team on legal points which may arise during the probe.

The petition is expected to come up before a high court bench which set up the SIT, comprising of two Gujarat cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officers Mohan Jha and Satish Verma. The team’s chief is also a senior IPS officer who was earlier posted in Delhi.

Mumbai college girl Ishrat Jahan was killed in a shootout in June 2004 along with three others. Gujarat police at the time claimed that Ishrat and the three others were Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives on a mission to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

According to police, they were intercepted on the outskirts of Ahmedabad when they were about to enter the city in a car.