Ishrat case: arrested Gujarat cop alleges torture by CBI

Suspended Gujarat police officer NK Amin, arrested by CBI in the alleged fake encounter of Mumbai girl Ishrat Jahan and three others near Ahmedabad in 2004, told a court today that he was tortured by the investigation agency.

Suspended Gujarat police officer NK Amin, arrested by CBI in the alleged fake encounter of Mumbai girl Ishrat Jahan and three others near Ahmedabad in 2004, told a court on Friday that he was tortured by the investigation agency.

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Amin, a suspended deputy superintendent of police, was arrested on Thursday.

"I was severely beaten up and also verbally abused by the CBI officers in custody," Amin accused when he was produced before a special CBI judge.

Amin, granted bail on medical grounds by the Bombay high court last month in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, was apprehended from the city's Civil Hospital, where he had been admitted.

The CBI produced him before the Special Court and sought remand for 14 days.

However, following Amin's complaint, judge SH Khutwad, while reserving order on the remand application, asked CBI to take the accused for a medical check-up.

A decision on the remand plea will be given on Saturday.

On June 15, 2004, Ishrat, along with Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar, was killed in an encounter by Ahmedabad Crime Branch.

At the time of the encounter, Amin was serving in the Crime Branch. As per Gujarat police's version, he was part of the team which cordoned off the area near the encounter spot and also took part in the gunfight.

In its remand plea, CBI has said as per information collected during the investigation, no cordon was laid prior to the encounter. "The incident did not happen in the way it was mentioned in the complaint registered earlier."

CBI, seeking Amin's custody, submitted "the details of widespread conspiracy to kill the deceased persons and the role played by each conspirator are yet not fully known. The accused person (Amin) knows these details and he has to be interrogated to gather necessary facts."