Ishrat Jehan encounter: Gujarat HC orders CBI to probe case

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat high court has handed over the Ishrat Jehan murder case to the CBI.

In a setback to the Narendra Modi government, the high court said the Gujarat state police could not be trusted for the probe.

The court said the Ishrat Jehan case is exceptional and has national ramifications.

The court ordered the SIT to file a fresh FIR with the CBI so that it can begin its investigations into the case.

Ishrat Jehan's family had sought a CBI probe into the case.

Earlier, the Special Investigation Team in its report had stated that Ishrat was killed in a fake encounter, prompting the Gujarat high court to order a fresh FIR against accused policemen in the case.

Ishrat, a 19-year-old college girl who hailed from Mumbra on the outskirts of Mumbai, along with Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar was killed in a shootout by Ahmedabad Crime Branch on June 15, 2004.

Reacting to the court order, activist Teesta Setalvad said it is a severe indictment of the Gujarat police.