DG Vanzara filed defamation suit at the behest of Gujarat government: Mufti Mansuri

AHMEDABAD: Mufti Abdul Qayum Mansuri, who was acquitted in 2004 Akshardham temple attack case and who later penned a book on his prison experiences, has said that Gujarat government is behind the defamation suit filed against him by former IPS officer DG Vanzara.

"I was harassed by the Gujarat police and the state government for around 12 years and again he (Vanzara) made a childish attempt to threaten me at the behest of the state government and some political leaders," Mansuri says in his reply filed in the court here.

Mufti has written a book titled `Gyarah Saal Salaakhon ke Peechhe' (Eleven years behind the bars). Vanzara, who investigated the case, has demanded damages of Rs 101 crore from him, claiming that the book defames him.

Mansuri says what he has written is based on the ruling of the Supreme Court (which acquitted him), and Vanzara hasn't intentionally produced many vital facts before the court.

"It clearly shows his application was written by some extremist Hindu organisation and it indicates that he, along with his old political friends, made this attempt to frame up the activists of Muslim community," says the reply.

It also questions Vanzara's "prestige", referring to Ishrat Jahan, Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram fake encounter cases against him, adding that the former IPS officer is accused of kidnapping and killing two innocent women (Ishrat and Kausar Bi) and destroying the evidence.

As he has moved the Supreme Court seeking compensation for custodial torture by Vanzara, the sessions court cannot decide the suit until the apex court court disposes of the petition, Mansuri has said.

Vanzara has claimed in his suit that Mansuri's book is a part of larger conspiracy "to discourage other patriotic police officers who fight against terrorism" and its content is "baseless, anti-national and defamatory".