Ex-Guj DGP wants Prez to ensure a free hand to CBI

The turf war between the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case has now reached Rashtrapati Bhavan. Smruti Koppikar reports.

The turf war between the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case has now reached Rashtrapati Bhavan.

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Former director general of police RB Sreekumar, who had earlier taken on Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for his response to the 2002 riots, has written to President Pranab Mukherjee, requesting him to intervene in the matter and ensure that appropriate steps were taken to "prevent and neutralise any move from the Government of India or NGOs or persons" from impeding the CBI's investigation.

Sreekumar has asked Mukherjee to "remedy elitist lobbyism against the rule of law" by ensuring that CBI investigation is not "impeded upon".

"Any action to anoint IB officials, accused of collaboration in the fake encounters, with the oil of innocence, violating the procedure established by law, would result in the IB degenerating into India's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI)," he wrote in the letter dated July 15.

The role of Rajendra Kumar, now IB special director, in the encounter has come under a cloud and the CBI investigating team is seeking to bring it on record.

This has led to a war of words between the two agencies, with former IB officials cautioning against this line of investigation for the impact it could have on India's intelligence agency.

"The argument that arrest of IB officials would demoralise IB personnel and damage IB operations sounds like the tail (IB) wagging the head (government). (The) IB leadership is indulging in soft black-mailing of its bosses," Sreekumar wrote.

SI had refused to fire at the 4
New Delhi: The CBI findings have revealed that sub-inspector Ibrahim Kalabalu Mohammed Chauhan had not only refused to fire at Ishrat and the others, when asked by inspector Tarun Barot, but also refused to hand over his service revolver. According to Chauhan, commando Mohan Kalashwa, now dead, had similarly asked commando Mohan Nanji to fire at the victims, but Nanji, too, had refused.

'Pak terrorist' tried to kill ACP
New Delhi: The CBI findings have revealed that one of the four killed in the encounter, Amjad Ali, had managed to snatch the pistol of then assistant commissioner of police NK Amin - one of his interrogators - and allegedly attempted to shoot at him despite being handcuffed. The incident occurred at a farmhouse where Ali, a "Pakistani terrorist" had been detained.

(With inputs from Abhishek Sharan)