Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s closest aide, state minister for home Amit Shah, failed to present himself before the CBI for questioning. He, however, issued an emotional statement saying he would present himself and clear suspicions about his role in the controversial Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.
CBI investigating officer Amitabh Thakur had summoned Mr Amit Shah at 1 pm Thursday. A second summons was issued Thursday evening. Mr Shah responded through a press statement saying he was loyal to the Constitution and would appear before the CBI on Friday.
“A second summons has been issued to me for tomorrow. I will make myself available and answer all questions,” Mr Shah said in a statement from an undisclosed location. He said it was important for him to explain to the people of Gujarat how this was now becoming a “political encounter” because of the “power-hungry UPA government”.
Amit Shah, a senior BJP leader, was minister of state for home affairs when the encounter took place. The CBI had the option of considering declaring Mr Shah an absconder and arresting him if he ignored the summons.
Mr Shah said he had no role in the encounter and that his name in his capacity as MoS, home, has “not come on record anywhere”, but the CBI was still working overtime to nail him. He said he was away from the Gujarat capital on “personal work” when the CBI sent the summons to his home. “It was difficult to make it in the time limit of 1 pm as I was out of time. This is surprising, that a Central agency treats a home minister of a state in this manner. It raises some doubts about their intentions. They could have given me time to make myself appear before them,” he said.
According to sources in New Delhi, the CBI has reportedly collected certain evidence which “needs to be reconfirmed with the minister”, the sources said. It is believed that the minister reportedly made 12 calls on November 26, 2005, the day Sohrabuddin was killed, to some specific numbers in the state, and that most of the calls lasted more than 32 minutes, sources said. They added that the CBI wants to verify the reason why the minister made calls to some suspected persons in the case.
Mr Shah recently skipped four Cabinet meetings, including Wednesday’s, and did not attend office. His whereabouts were also not publicly known. He has been changing four to five cars in a day and had done away with his official security and vehicle.
“(Amit) Shah has been asked to appear before us today at the CBI office in Gandhinagar,” CBI IG P. Kandaswamy told reporters earlier on Thursday. Mr Kandaswamy said the summons was issued to Mr Shah for the purpose of examination as he is “acquainted with the circumstances of the case”.
Mr Shah’s lawyer, Mr Mahesh Jethmalani, cast doubts at the urgency shown in issuing the first summons. “He was given summons at 10.30 am this morning and asked to come at 1 pm. That itself creates some doubts about the bonafides of the investigation. No accused person gets such short notice to answer a summons for interrogation.”
Mr Jethmalani said Mr Shah will appear before CBI on Friday. The state government said it will cooperate with the process of law on the issue of the summons. “I have come to know about it (issue of summons) from the media. Whatever is the process of law, one will follow it,” state government spokesman and health minister Jaynarayan Vyas said.
The state BJP, meanwhile, lashed out at the Congress. “The Congress is misusing the CBI against BJP-ruled states,” BJP leader and MP Vijay Rupani said.
In New Delhi, BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “After selective leaks in the media, the CBI has now summoned him. It has established the lowest benchmark.” The Congress Leader of the Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly said there should not be any politics on the issue of the probe in the Sohrabuddin case. The CBI took over investigation of the fake encounter and the mysterious murder of Sohrabuddin’s wife, Kausar Bi, in January this year on the directions of the Supreme Court.
In New Delhi, CBI spokesperson Harsh Bhal said, “A summons has been issued to minister of state (home), government of Gujarat, for the purpose of examination as he is acquainted with the circumstances of the case.” He refused to divulge further information in the case, saying it was still under investigation and more information could not be shared at this stage.
Investigating officials have already questioned certain senior Gujarat IPS officers in connection with their suspected role in shielding the accused policemen. The role of some police officials from Andhra Pradesh is also being probed.
Sources said initial CBI investigations have revealed that some IPS officers in Gujarat tried to conceal certain crucial information during the investigation to save colleagues allegedly involved in the fake encounter. It is possible that the CBI may file a case against certain erring IPS officials under charges of destruction of evidence in connection with the fake encounter.
Investigating officials also want to know under what circumstances Tulsi Prajapati was killed, and whether his killing is related to the Sohrabuddin fake encounter. Tulsi Prajapati, believed to be an eyewitness in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, was killed when he allegedly tried to escape from custody while being shifted back to Gujarat from Rajasthan after attending trial.
Suspended DIG D.G. Vanzara and R.K. Pandiyan (both Gujarat cadre IPS officers), and Dinesh M.N. (Rajasthan cadre, IPS) are the main accused in the case. A DSP of the Gujarat police, N.K. Ameen, too, is an accused.