High Court orders CBI inquiry in Sadiq Jamal encounter case

The Gujarat high court Justice M R Shah today ordered the transfer of investigation from the city crime branch to the CBI in the 2003 Sadiq Jamal Mehtar encounter case on a petition by Sadiq’s brother Shabbir Jamal Mehtar.

Rejecting the plea of the Gujarat government to transfer probe to the Special Task Force(STF) the court said the encounter involved high ranking police officials of Gujarat and if the probe is transferred to the STF, there could be apprehensions of bias in investigations, therefore, a probe by an independent agency like CBI is required, it said. The court however, categorically stated that the judgement in no way doubts the credibility of state police.

Sadiq was allegedly killed in Naroda area of the city on January 13, 2003, by the city crime branch. The encounter allegedly involved suspended IPS officer D G Vanzara, who is also one of the prime accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.