High Court yet to decide on Ishrat probe agency

The alleged encounter killing of the four was declared fake by the Special Investigation Team on Monday.

However, the High Court is yet to take a call on which agency is to take the investigation further.

Interestingly, while Shamima Kausar, the mother of Ishrat Jahan, was demanding CBI probe earlier, her lawyer IH Saiyed has expressed that the current SIT will be more preferable over the CBI and on its part, the state government has preferred CBI as the probe agency in a complete volte face from its earlier stand.

Saiyed has argued that the central agency shall have to start the investigation from the scratch and being already burdened with many cases will delay the investigation.

The SIT on the other hand is conversant with the case having brought it so far is better equipped to handle the case at this point.

Further, he argued that after the new chairman of the SIT RR Verma the IPS officer from Bihar cadre has taken over, there has been no allegation against the SIT from any quarter.

On the contrary, the probe by the CBI runs the risk of attracting political allegations.
It may be mentioned here that Satish Verma is the only member of the three member SIT who is ready to carry the probe further.

The other two members, R R Verma and Jha have expressed their wish to be relieved from the investigation.

Meanwhile, another old case of custodial death dating back to 1996 has resurfaced against Satish Verma. One Hiralal Shial has sought a probe by an independent agency into the killing of his brother Jasu Gagan Shial, who was killed by the police in Porbandar, when Verma was the superintendent of Police there.

Police had allegedly killed Shial in self defense.

Two more people Aher Ranmal Ram and Aher Narayan Jesti Bandhiya were found dead under suspicious condition in Porbanadar police Custody in 1996.

Later a PIL was filed in Gujarat High Court, in 1997 and the High Court had ordered the state police to inquire into the matter and file a report within six months in 1998.

However, with no development in the investigation in last so many years, Hiralal has now moved the High Court seeking a CBI probe against Verma.