Gujarat police officers hope to cash on Headley’s ‘disclosure’ in Ishrat Jahan case

NEW DELHI: Pak-American terrorist David Headley’s judicial deposition regarding Ishrat Jahan may be a shot in the arm for Gujarat police officers facing trial in the fake encounter case after the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had told the Supreme Court in 2014 that she was a terrorist.

While obtaining bail from the Gujarat trial court, accused police officers like PP Pandey (now additional DGP, Gujarat) and DG Vanzara have already stressed on Ishrat’s alleged terror links based on IB’s disclosure before the SC. IB had filed the said affidavit in response to an accused police officer, NK Amin filing a bail plea in SC which was ultimately withdrawn by him.

CBI has countered that any terror links of the four killed persons have no effect on the facts of the fake encounter case as the CBI’s case does not go into their credentials.

However, the Gujarat officers are expected to harp on Headley’s official disclosure to buttress their claim of it being a ‘genuine encounter with terrorists’.

“IB got a letter from the US citing Headley’s interrogation in US that Pakistan nationals Amjad Ali Rana and Jeshan Johar entered into Gujarat and were coordinated by Javed from Pune and Ishrat Jehan from Mumbra.

IB also wrote to CBI in 2013 citing this letter. But CBI intentionally suppressed this material fact to implicate Gujarat Police officers in a serious crime,” a senior Gujarat police officer said.