CBI wants Sohrabuddin case shifted out of Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: The Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI) on Friday submitted its status report on the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case to the Supreme Court.

According to television reports, CBI in its status report has asked for the case to be shifted out of Gujarat as it feels that investigation cannot be carried out in an impartial manner in the State.

The CBI is also learnt to have said that it will investigate the fake encounter of Tulsiram Prajapati, the man who allegedly witnessed the killing of Sohrabuddin.

The apex Court had set July 31 as the deadline for the CBI to submit its status report into the case.

According to sources, former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah, who is in judicial custody till August 7, was not cooperating in the probe and there was a need to interrogate him.

Most of Shah's replies according to the agency were evasive.

"He has feigned ignorance and loss of memory and is getting away by saying that that `I do not know or I do not remember," sources said.

Earlier, the CBI summoned Geetha Johri, the first woman IPS officer of Gujarat, in connection with the case.

Johri, who was the part of Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case, has been asked to appear before the CBI on August 10.

Earlier, the CBI has also summoned former Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) P C Pandey and asked him to appear before it on August 11.

Pandey was DGP of Gujarat when the state CID was investigating the fake encounter case.

Meanwhile, the CBI team is likely to seek permission from its headquarters to question Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in connection with the case.

The investigating agency may want Modi to answer some questions in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case.

The CBI wants to know if Modi was aware of the attempts being made by top police officials to scuttle the probe.

If Modi is summoned for questioning, it will be for the second time this year. He was earlier questioned by a Special Investigation Team in 2002 Gujarat riots case.

Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausar Bi were killed in an alleged fake encounter in 2005.