[Reader-list] 2 top cops had faked ‘Modi plot’ killing of ‘LeT man’

[Shivam Vij]

2 top cops had faked 'Modi plot' killing of 'LeT man'

By Deepal Trevedie
Asian Age, 12 March 2007
http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/news/top-story/2-top-cops-had-faked-%E2%80%98modi-plot%E2%80%99-killing-of-%E2%80%98let-man%E2%80%99.aspx


Ahmedabad, March 11: Two top IPS officers of Gujarat earlier lauded
for their role in foiling an alleged Lashkar attempt to kill chief
minister Narendra Modi are now under the scanner of the Supreme Court
for having faked the encounter. Police officers from Andhra Pradesh
and Rajasthan's Special Task Force (STF) are also alleged to have
supported the Gujarat police in this matter.

Sohrabuddin Sheikh, suspected to be a Lashkar-e-Tayyaba operative, was
shot dead at 5 am on November 26, 2005 in Ahmedabad by Gujarat and
Rajasthan policemen while he was speeding on a motorcycle. The
"terrorist" was stopped by the police and he opened fire. The police
fired back and killed him. The incident had earned accolades for then
anti-terrorist squad chief D.G. Vanzara and superintendent of police
Rajkumar Pandian.

Now a year later, following the intervention of the Supreme Court,
investigations have revealed serious discrepancies, indicating that
this was a fake encounter. Sohrabuddin's wife Kausar Bibi has been
missing since the incident. The Supreme Court stepped in on a habeas
corpus petition by Kausar Bibi's Ruba-nbuddin. The court directed the
Centre to submit a report in two weeks, and it also forwarded
Rubabuddin's petition to the Gujarat police, which asked the state CID
(crime) to look into it. IGP Geetha Johri constituted a team of
upright police officers, who went to Hyderabad, Sangli, Rajasthan and
Madhya Pradesh and came back with shocking evidence indicating a fake
encounter.

The interim report submitted to the Supreme Court, a copy of which is
with this newspaper, states that top ATS (anti-terrorist squad)
officers, including senior IPS officer Rajkumar Pandian, had gone to
Hyderabad and spent a couple of days interacting with the local police
there. Two fake numberplates starting with the series AP-11 were made
in Hyderabad by the Gujarat police. The Gujarat and Andhra police
personnel then travelled in private cars with fake numberplates.
Sohrabuddin and Kausar Bibi were travelling in a M.J. Travels bus (#
KA05 AF5051) from Hyderabad to Sangli on November 23, 2005 The bus was
intercepted at Tandola village at around 1.30 am. At least six bus
passengers as well as the driver have testified, on the basis of
pictures shown to them, that Sohrabuddin and Kausar Bibi were
co-travellers and had been picked up by the policemen. All the
passengers, however, said that three people were picked up from the
bus.

The Andhra Pradesh police left Ahmedabad soon after. The Sheikhs were
kept confined at a private farmhouse in Ahmedabad. A day later,
Sohrabuddin was taken from the farmhouse to a flat near Vishalla
Tolnaka Road, where one Tulsiram Prajapati was reportedly called by
the Gujarat police to identify him. Tulsiram and Sohrabuddin had been
together in Ujjain jail. Soon after the identification, Sohrabuddin
was brought to the main road at around 5 am on November 26. A police
sub-inspector from Rajasthan drove the motorcycle for a while, jumped
from it in filmi style, and Sohrabuddin was taken out from the Maruti
car and pushed on to the road. Four policemen fired a total of eight
rounds on the suspected Lashkar operative, who was later pronounced
dead sat
the government hospital.

The Gujarat police then announced the encounter, and showered itself
with praise for killing "a terrorist who was in Gujarat to assassinate
chief minister Narendra Modi." ATS chief D.G. Vanzara and Rajkumar
Pandian were present when the encounter took place.

The interim report says the motorcycle used by the police for the
encounter could have been stolen, probably by the policemen themselves
for its "Save the CM" operation. A policeman has testified that his
boss instructed him to take a motorcycle lying in the office compound
and drive it down to Vishalla Tolnaka, the venue of the fake
encounter. A citizen, Shloksingh Ramsingh Yadav, had filed an FIR
hours ago stating that his motorcycle had been stolen from his
residence. He later on saw his bike in the newspapers when the
encounter pictures were splashed, and came to claim it three days
later. "Lots of senior names will crop up in this case. Terrorists in
khaki are likely to be nailed, but now the Gujarat government is
working hard to save them," a senior Gujarat government bureaucrat
said.

Ms Johri has already submitted three interim reports to the Supreme
Court clearly indicating that serious offences should be registered
against Mr Vanzara and Mr Pandian and all other Rajasthan and Andhra
Pradesh policemen involved in this case. Unhappy with her stance, an
embarrassed Gujarat government has overnight taken the investigation
away from her. Mr Keshav Kumar, an IPS officer believed to be close to
the ruling BJP government, has now been asked to carry it forward.

A police officer's statement recorded by the CID says that Kausar Bibi
was moved to another place by the Gujarat police after the encounter.
This police officer, who is a deputy superintendent of police, has
claimed that two-three days after Sohrabuddin's encounter, an ATS
driver told him that Kausar Bibi had been burnt and killed in the
hills near Hillol village of Sabarkantha district. Incidentally,
senior IPS officer Vanzara, who is involved in this case, hails from
Hillol village in Sabarkantha.

Tomorrow: The relevance of Tulsiram Prajapati with the Sohrabuddin
case. Tulsiram was killed recently in an encounter at Banaskantha,
which is under the jurisdiction of Mr D.G. Vanzara, now DIG, border
range, Gujarat.