Ishrat Jahan case: Amin moves SC for quashing charges

NEW DELHI: Suspended Gujarat cadre IPS officer N K Amin, arrested in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, today moved the Supreme Court for quashing of charges against him.

A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam posted the matter for hearing on August 6 after Amin's counsel Mahesh Jethmalani mentioned the petition for early hearing.

CBI, on July 3, had filed a charge sheet against seven police officers including Amin, accusing them of murder and criminal conspiracy regarding the encounter killing of 19-year-old Ishrat, Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in 2004.

Amin is also an accused in the killing of Sohrabuddin Shaikh in a fake encounter and was granted bail by the Bombay High Court and the CBI has challenged it in the apex court.

While Amin was on bail, the CBI had arrested him in connection with Ishrat Jahan case on April 4.

The arrested police officer has applied for bail in the Ishrat Jahan case before the Gujarat High Court which had sought response from the CBI.

CBI in its charge sheet has said the encounter was fake and had been carried out jointly by Gujarat police and IB.

Suspended IPS officer G L Singhal, retired DSP J G Parmar, Mehsana DySP Tarun Barot and commando Anaju Chaudhary were granted default bail by the Special CBI court here after the probe agency failed to file the charge sheet in the case within the stipulated 90 days of their arrest.

Amin is accused of abducting Ishrat and Sheikh from Vasad two days prior to the killing and firing the shots during the "so-called encounter".