Bombay HC to begin final hearing in December on appeals against acquittal in Sohrabuddin Shaikh case
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court will hear final petitions against the acquittal of all 22 suspects in Sohrabuddin Shaikh's alleged staged encounter in December. The appeals were filed in 2019 by Shaikh’s brothers, Rubabuddin and Nayabuddin. They termed the trial “flawed” and challenged the clearance granted to police personnel from Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh.
A division bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad noted on Wednesday that the matter had remained pending for years, with only four hearings held in the past three years, as reported by The Indian Express . The bench observed that some of the acquitted accused had not appeared before the court during these hearings.
The court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation, which probed the case, to issue fresh notices to those who have not been appearing through counsel. The notices are to be served through officers in charge of the concerned police stations. The matter is expected to be heard on December 5.
A special CBI court in Mumbai acquitted all 22 suspects in the deaths of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kauser Bi, and his assistant Tulsiram Prajapati on December 21, 2018. The trial court ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove accusations of conspiracy, murder and evidence destruction. He stated that the case failed primarily because key witnesses became hostile and 92 of the 210 witnesses examined during the trial recanted their previous claims.
The case dates back to November 23, 2005, when Shaikh, then wanted in several cases, Kauser Bi and Prajapati were allegedly abducted from a luxury bus travelling from Hyderabad to Sangli. According to the CBI’s case, Shaikh and Kauser Bi were taken to Gujarat, while Prajapati was later shown as arrested in Rajasthan. Shaikh was killed soon after in what investigators alleged was a staged encounter, followed weeks later by Prajapati’s killing. The CBI had also told the trial court that Kauser Bi was murdered and her body disposed of.
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Karnataka Minister urges Centre to launch Bengaluru–Vijayapura express train
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Infrastructure Development Minister M B Patil has urged the Centre to launch an express train service between Bengaluru and Vijayapura.
The demand comes following the completion of the 9.60-km double-line railway work between Alamatti and Wandal, which has been open for traffic since March 25, the Minister's office said in a statement on Wednesday.
"He has written a letter regarding this on March 30 to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister V Somanna," it said.
In the letter, Patil stated that the Alamatti–Wandal section, part of the Gadag–Hotgi double-line project, has now been completed. During an earlier meeting, it was mentioned that once this work was finished, an express train between Bengaluru and Vijayapura could be introduced. He has now requested that this be given priority.
He highlighted that thousands of people from Vijayapura and Bagalkote districts travel daily to Bengaluru for education, healthcare, administrative work, and business, and this train service would greatly benefit them.
According to him, currently, the train journey between the two cities takes about 15 hours, which is inconvenient.
He stressed the need to reduce this travel time to around 10 hours.
The minister also requested that trains departing from Bengaluru be given a limited stops upto Hubballi, and that trains proceeding to Vijayapura should be routed via the Hubballi and Gadag bypass lines.
