CBI says 70 bullets sprayed at Ishrat, 3 others

Gujarat Crime Branch officials had fired 70 rounds using their automatic and semi-automatic weapons at Ishrat Jahan and three others during the alleged fake encounter nine years ago.

The CBI chargesheet in Ishrat Jahan encounter killing has submitted that as many as 70 bullets had been pumped into the bodies of the 19-year-old Mumbai college girl and three others.

"NK Amin fired five rounds from his 9mm pistol, JG Parmar four from his revolver; Tarun Barot and IK Chauhan six and three rounds respectively from their revolvers," the chargesheet said.

The other policemen who joined the firing spree are Mohan Kalaswa who fired 32 rounds from his AK-47 rifle, commando Mohan Nanji who fired 10 rounds from his rifle and Anaju Jiman Chaudhary who sprayed 10 rounds from his Stengun over their bodies, the chargesheet said.

Amin, Barot, Parmar, Kalaswa and Chaudhary fired at the car as soon as it arrived at the encounter spot on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. In fact, Barot and Kalaswa had snatched away weapons from Chauhan and Nanji and fired again at the deceased after exhausting their own ammunition.

Besides the account of the staged gunfight, the chargesheet provides meticulous details of how the four persons were detained and kept in illegal confinement by the Ahmedabad police and officials of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) headed by Rajinder Kumar.

"Agents named C1 and C2 engaged by Rajinder Kumar and GL Singhal assisted them in securing the illegal custody of (one of) the deceased, Zeeshan Johar, in the last week of April, 2004," the chargesheet said.

In the second week of June, Ishrat and Javed Sheikh were abducted by a team of Gujarat Police and IB officials from Vasad toll booth in Gujarat's Anand district when they were travelling in a blue Indica car.

The duo was taken to Khodiyar farm house where absconding additional director general of police PP Pande, Rajinder Kumar and others had interrogated them. The fourth person, Amjad Ali Rana, had been detained again by a joint team of police and IB officials on May 26 from Gota crossing on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. He was kept at another farm house, Arham, on Ahmedabad Gandhinagar highway where Rajinder Kumar and others had interrogated him.

The plan to eliminate the abducted persons was discussed on June 13 by DG Vanzara, PP Pande and Rajinder Kumar at Bungalow No 15, Duffnala, Shahibaug.