Fake encounter victims were in police custody for long

The CBI theory that four persons killed in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case were in the custody of the Gujarat Police much before the actual encounter occurred got further credence.

The charge sheet filed by the investigating agency recently has annexed statements of some policemen who were witness to the abduction and captivity of some of those killed.

A former inspector with the crime branch, Bharat Patel, in a statement given under Section 161 of the CrPC has told the investigating agency that in May 2004, much before the encounter, the Gujarat Police had Amjad Ali, one of the persons killed in the encounter, in custody.

Patel, in his statement, claimed that D G Vanzara and  N K Amin grilled Amjad at the Araham farm house for days but failed to extract adequate information from him.

Later, Patel said in his statement, another officer, G L Singhal and him were entrusted with the task to interrogate Amjad.

Patel revealed that Singhal, who was on leave, returned on May 26 and started questioning Amjad along with him. The inspector said it was during their questioning that the alleged terrorist revealed that he was from Pakistan.

He told the interrogators that he had come to Ahmedabad to target some densely populated Hindu areas. Patel told the CBI that Amjad never said he was on a mission to kill the Gujarat chief minister.