Ahmedabad Metropolitan Court chief magistrate K G Upadhyay on Thursday left off the hook the six personnel, including IPS officials D G Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandyan and Dinesh M N involved in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter, rejecting the plea of CID crime to conduct narco-analysis and brain-mapping tests on them.

CID crime official Geetha Johri investigating the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case and the Kausar Bi killing was banking heavily on the narco-analysis and brain-mapping tests to pin the motive of the fake encounter and this ruling is a severe setback to the investigating team.


Defence advocate representing the policemen claimed that the tests have been rejected on three grounds that includes a consent of the accused for the tests, the right of the accused under article 20(3) to remain silent where he cannot be forced to speak and the lack of a legal provision for carrying out such scientific tests.

The six police personnel also included police inspector NH Dabhi, Rajkumar Pandiyan’s secretary constable Ajay Parmar and driver Santram Sharma all of whom had been confined to judicial custody.

Sources here claimed that Rajneesh Rai, the police official investigating the Sohrabuddin case, had been moving too fast with his investigations for the Gujarat government’s comfort and that led to the reappointment of Johri in the case.

Despite the Supreme Court having ordered Johri to report the details of the case directly to it forbidding even DGP PC Pande to seek details of the case, the case still appears to be losing steam according to sources.

With CID crime DySP Narendra Amin obtaining an anticipatory bail in the sessions court and several police officials believed to be involved in the case in hiding, the Sohrabuddin fake encounter team seems to be losing its steam.

For Godmother

The ruling by the Metropolitan magistrate may also provide respite for gangster Santokben Jadeja, whose character has inspired the film Godmother.

Santokben’s name had cropped up for providing refuge for the two accused in the rape and killing of two teenage Koli girls that created a stir across Saurashtra and Gujarat in the powerful Koli community.

The police has sought to conduct narco-analysis and brain mapping on the hardened gangster. But her lawyer made an application in the high court soon after the plea of the CID crime was rejected. With the police having no leads of the two accused in the crime the police were banking on the tests to get to Santokben who had attributed a political motive ahead of the polls for her arrest.