A CBI team is expected to arrive in Rajasthan by August 13-14 to interrogate some leading businessmen in connection with the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.
A CBI charge sheet claimed that the owners of RK Marbles and Sangam Textiles in Rajasthan had approached senior state
politicians to get rid of Sheikh, who operated as an extortionist in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
The agency alleges that Sheikh used to extort by threatening people on behalf of Gujarat's then junior home minister Amit Shah.
The association continued for several years, but Sheikh eventually became greedy and tried to expand his network on his own.
In 2004, Sheikh made a large extortion demand to RK Marbles, owned by the Pattani brothers, who were allegedly close to the then BJP government in Rajasthan.
When they complained, Shah, who was already uneasy about Sheikh's efforts to branch out on his own, decided to get rid of him through a police encounter, the CBI alleges.
Some marble traders close to the Pattanis claim that Sheikh's demands were increasing and he wanted a share in the lucrative marble business.
"Sheikh threatened mine owners and traders, (asking them) to make his men partners," said a mine owner associated with RK Marbles.
The CBI team will interrogate the businessmen to find out the names of the people who may have been involved in Sheikh's murder, said a CBI official on condition of anonymity.