A team of CBI officials is camping in Rajasthan to probe whether Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case was in any way connected to the murder of former Gujarat state home minister Haren Pandya.
The move comes in the wake of reported revelations made by Azam Khan, a friend of Sohrabuddin and an important witness in the fake encounter case, before the CBI that a senior IPS officer of the Gujarat police had saved Sohrabuddin in Haren Pandya murder case.
Azam had told his interrogators that Abhay Chudasama, who was a member of the Gujarat ATS, had told him (Azam) that he (Abhay) had saved Sohrabuddin in Haren Pandya murder case. The agency now wants to probe any possible connection of the fake encounter case with Haren Pandya murder case.
According to sources, a team of CBI officials is camping in Rajasthan and, if required, the officials may record the statement of Azam Khan again.
Talking to this newspaper, Vitthal Bhai Pandya, father of Haren Pandya said: “I have been insisting that the murder of my son should be probed by the CBI, which is India’s premier investigating agency. Now, in view of the revelations made by Azam Khan, links between Shorabuddin Sheikh murder case and Haren Pandya murder case must be probed”.
“The reasons for Haren’s killing needs to be probed thoroughly,” said Mr Pandya.
Sources pointed out that the agency, in its chargesheet, had mentioned that Amit Shah had accepted Sohrabuddin being killed because he had “closed the alternative of keeping himself alive and that there were political compulsions which an ordinary person like him would not understand”.
The agency is probing to know what those “political compulsions” were, sources said. The ources said that the agency wanted to ascertain the reasons why Sohrabuddin was picked up first.
“Azam Khan may be asked questions on this aspect also,” the sources said.