Lashkar terrorist Ishrat Jahan’s encounter to be probed by SIT

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday afternoon handed over the investigation into the encounter of Lashkar-e-Taiyaba terrorist Ishrat Jahan to the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team that is probing the post-Godhra 2002 riot cases.

The SIT is headed by R K Raghavan.

Ishrat Jahan, Javed Sheikh and two other terrorists were killed by the Gujarat Police in June 2004.

After the encounter, Javed’s father Gopinath Pillai and Ishrat’s mother Shamima Kausar had demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged fake encounter.

On Thursday, the Division Bench of Justices Jayant Patel and Abhilasha Kumari shot down the prayer for a CBI inquiry by the two and instead said the SC-appointed investigating team would probe it.

The judges said there was no material on record to conclude that the encounter was with malafide intentions and, therefore, the plea for a CBI inquiry was not granted.

Till now, a three-member state team – appointed by a single Bench judge – was probing the matter. After Thursday’s order, this team stands dissolved. There investigation was not found satisfactory.

The Ishrat Jahan encounter came to a boil after Metropolitan Magistrate S P Tamang conducted a judicial inquiry into the charges and said it was a fake encounter by the Gujarat Police. He had indicted 21 police officers of the state.

The state had challenged Tamang’s order but the High Court refused to set it aside.

There were five petition in all on Thursday on which the High Court deliberated. Two were moved by Kausar and Pillai.

The court has also directed the state government to make necessary orders within two weeks to transfer the case to SIT.

The court has also told the SIT to submit its report within three months after it begins investigations.