The family members of alleged slain LeT terrorist Ishrat Jahan on Wednesday said they were relieved after the Central Bureau of Investigation’s conclusion that Ishrat was murdered in a fake encounter.
The family also hoped that the supplementary chargesheet of the CBI would also exonerate Ishrat from allegations of terror links and bring forth Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi’s role in the encounter.
Mother Shamima Kauser, her younger daughter Nusrat and relative Rauf Lala addressed a press conference on Monday where they said that while they were relieved, they “were not completely happy” with the CBI chargesheet, and would meet the Prime Minister to ensure that the CBI doesn’t shield anyone.
“For the last nine years, I have been saying that Ishrat was innocent. Today, I am vindicated after the CBI chargesheet,” Ms Kauser said.
Mr Lala, claimed, “The Intelligence Bureau’s (IB) information is usually briefed to the state’s chief minister on a daily basis. And Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi was aware of the facts surrounding Ishrat through the IB. Still she was killed in the fake encounter. Mr Modi was part of the conspiracy hatched to murder Ishrat. He should not be spared and we hope, in the supplementary chargesheet, Modi and others’ names would also appear.”
“The chargesheet just names the people who committed the murder and not who ordered it. We also hope that the supplementary chargesheet that the CBI will file later, would completely state that Ishrat was innocent and had no links to any terrorist organisation.” Mr Lala added.
Demanding capital punishment for those involved in the killing, Mr Lala said that they would be seeking a meeting with PM Manmohan Singh to ask the home minister to ensure that there is no cover up in the case. “The CBI has still not named every individual who was involved in the killing of Ishrat. We don’t want any cover up. The investigations should go on in an unbiased manner,” he said.
Responding to a query if she suspected Mr Modi’s role in the murder, Ms Nusrat replied, “My sister was killed with allegations that she went to murder Modi. Hence, I suspect his involvement.”