Ishrat Jahan case: Court reserves order on IB officers' plea
Ahmedabad: A special CBI court here is likely to pronounce its order on January 23 on a plea by two Intelligence Bureau officials challenging the summons issued to them by a magistrate in the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case.
Rajeev Wankhede and T S Mittal, assistant central intelligence officers at the time of the alleged fake encounter, have challenged the summons issued by a metropolitan magistrate's court here.
CBI judge J K Pandya reserved his order on their pleas till January 23.
The lower court issued the summons to them and two others -- Central IB's special director Rajinder Kumar and officer M S Sinha -- on the basis of a supplementary charge sheet filed against them by the CBI in the Ishrat case.
The CBI has charged them with murder, criminal conspiracy, illegal detention and kidnapping.
The lawyers of Wankhede and Mittal argued today that the summons was not maintainable, as the court has not taken cognisance of the CBI charge sheet.
No summons can be issued as the Union government has not given sanction for their prosecution as required under the Code of Criminal Procedure, the lawyers said.
The CBI, however, contended that a court can use its discretion to issue a summons even when the competent authority hasn't given sanction.
The magistrate last month issued summons to the four IB officials after the CBI informed the court about denial of sanction by the Union government.
Ishrat Jahan, a 19-year-old college girl from Mumbra near Mumbai, her friend Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh, Amzad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an alleged fake encounter by the Ahmedabad police on the outskirts of the city in June 2004. The police had then claimed that they were terrorists affiliated to the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba.
The first charge sheet filed by the CBI named seven Gujarat policemen, including IPS officers P P Pandey, D G Vanzara and G L Singhal, for carrying out a fake encounter.
All of them are out on bail.
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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
