PM Modi Was Interrogated In Ishrat Jahan Encounter Case, Claims Accused DG Vanzara
New Delhi: Former IPS officer D.G. Vanzara, one of the key accused in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, has filed a discharge application before the special CBI court.
His application comes two weeks after a CBI court in Ahmedabad discharged former Gujarat DGP P.P. Pandey in the case. Vanzara has sought discharge on the grounds of parity with Pandey, Indian Express reported.
Vanzara has claimed in his petition that the fake encounter case is “politically motivated… with a view to topple the democratically-elected (Gujarat) government, (and the) entire plot appears to have been deployed by the then central government (led by the UPA)…”, according to the newspaper.
He has also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “interrogated” in relation to the case. However, a senior police officer who is involved in the investigation told Indian Express that this is a “complete lie”.
Ishrat Jahan, a teenaged woman from Mumbra, was killed in June 2004 by the Gujarat police in an ‘encounter’ along with three other men. A magisterial enquiry, SIT probe and CBI investigation subsequently all concluded that this was a fake encounter and that the police claim of having fired on her in ‘self-defence’ was a lie. In July 2013, almost a decade after the fake encounter, a chargesheet was filed against seven Gujarat police officials including Pandey and Vanzara, and (in a supplementary chargesheet in February 2014) four IB officials for the unlawful killings, abduction, criminal conspiracy etc.
Pandey was the first accused to be discharged in the case. Both the CBI and Ishrat Jahan’s mother Shamima Kauser had opposed his discharge. Two of the four IB officers accused in the fake encounter case – Rajeev Wankhede and Tushar Mittal – have also asked to be discharged, challenging the special CBI court order which took cognisance of a supplementary chargesheet and issued summons for their appearance.
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Himachal’s Sammoo village does not celebrate Diwali due to centuries-old 'curse’; Here’s why
Hamirpur: The residents of Sammoo village in Hamirpur district located in Himachal Pradesh are continuing a centuries-old tradition of not celebrating Diwali. No houses are lit during the festival, no special dishes are prepared, and no sounds of crackers are heard.
This is an ancient custom that people have been following for ages due to the fear of a curse from a woman who committed Sati on Diwali, according to a PTI report.
The legend goes that, many years ago, the woman who had left for her parent's home to celebrate Diwali received news that her husband, a soldier in the king's court, had died. The woman, who was pregnant, was devastated and burnt herself on her husband's pyre. It is believed she cursed the villagers, declaring that they would never again be able to celebrate Diwali.
As a result, the village has not celebrated the festival since, with elders reportedly warning younger generations that celebrations would invite misfortune, disaster, and deaths.
Bhoranj panchayat pradhan Pooja Devi stated that since she got married and moved to this village, she has never witnessed Diwali being celebrated. “Even if the villagers settle outside, the curse of the women won’t leave them. Some years ago, a family from the village settled far away were preparing some local dishes for Diwali when their house caught fire. The people of the village only worship Sati and light diyas in front of her,” Pooja Devi was quoted as saying by the news agency.
The report also cited another village elder, who has lived through more than 70 Diwalis without celebration, mentioning that whenever someone attempts to celebrate, tragedy strikes the village.
“For hundreds of years, people have refrained from celebrating Diwali. On the day of Diwali, if a family, even by mistake, bursts crackers and makes dishes at home, then disaster is sure to happen,” the report quoted another villager.
The people in the village have tried a lot of measures, such as havans and yagyas, to get rid of the curse. However, nothing has reportedly worked.
