Bombay HC upholds discharge of Vanzara, other senior Gujarat, Rajasthan police officials
Sohrabuddin Shaikh 'fake encounter' case
NEW DELHI, Sept 10: The Bombay high court on Monday dismissed the appeals challenging the discharge of several Gujarat and Rajasthan senior police officers, including DG Vanzara, as accused parties in the allegedly fake encounters of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife and an aide.
According to the CBI, Shaikh, and his wife Kausarbi, were killed in an allegedly fake encounter in November 2005, while their aide Tulsiram Prajapati was killed similarly around a year later, through an alleged conspiracy by Gujarat and Rajasthan police. The court was hearing five revision applications challenging the discharge granted in the case by a trial court to Gujarat IPS officer Rajkumar Pandian, former Gujarat ATS chief D Vanzara, Gujarat police officer N K Amin, Rajasthan cadre IPS officer Dinesh M N and Rajasthan police constable Dalpat Singh Rathod.
Sohrabuddin's brother Rubabuddin Shaikh had filed three of these five pleas, challenging the discharge granted in the case by the trial court to Pandian, Dinesh and Vanzara. The remaining two pleas were filed by the CBI challenging the discharge granted to Amin and Rathod.
The CBI had booked these five officials, along with 33 other people, as accused in the "fake" encounters of Shaikh and his wife in November 2005 and Prajapati in December 2006.
The Gujarat Police had then claimed Sohrabuddin had terror links.
Between 2014 and 2017, a special court in Mumbai, where the case was moved to from Gujarat following a Supreme Court order, discharged 15 of these 38 accused. Those discharged included 14 police officials and BJP president Amit Shah. As per the CBI charge sheet, Sohrabuddin, a suspected gangster based in Gujarat, and his wife, were abducted by officers of the Gujarat ATS and the Rajasthan Police from near Hyderabad and killed in a fake encounter in November 2005.
Prajapati, an eye-witness to these killings, was shot dead in another staged encounter in December 2006 by some Rajasthan Police officials at the behest of the Gujarat and Rajasthan officers, who had been involved in the killing of the husband-wife duo, the CBI had claimed.
The encounter cases of Sohrabuddin Shaikh and his wife, and Prajapati were clubbed together in 2013 after the apex court directed that the trial be shifted to Mumbai from Gujarat.
Courtesy: timesofindia
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
