Sadiq Jamal Encounter: 7 years on CBI yet to complete probe, two cops seek discharge

Even as the wait for the CBI to wrap up its investigation continues, the 2003 case of extrajudicial killing of Sadiq Jamal Mehtar came out from the cold this week after two suspected policemen filed applications before a special CBI court seeking discharge from the case.

The court has issued notice to the CBI and sought a response by August 11.

The 19-year-old Bhavnagar youth, Sadiq, was killed in a police encounter on January 13, 2003, in Naroda area, Ahmedabad, by a team of policemen allegedly on suspicion of being a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who was out to kill the then chief minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders. After a petition in the high court, the CBI was entrusted to investigate the case.

In December 2012, the CBI filed its first chargesheet against eight policemen, including J G Parmar, I A Saiyed, KM Vaghela, R L Mavani, G H Gohil, A S Yadav, C M Chudasama and Tarun Barot. Since then all the accused are out on bail. On August 4, Mavani and Yadav filed separate applications for discharge citing no evidence against them in the chargesheet, among other grounds. Another accused Vaghela had also filed a discharge application which was rejected in 2017 that he has challenged in the high court where the matter remains pending.

While filing the chargesheet in 2012, the CBI had stated in the court that it will file a supplementary chargesheet. After taking several extensions, it is yet to come up with the final part of the investigation that would involve senior police and intelligence officers, posted with Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB) in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, whose roles were revealed during the probe.

The CBI probe has revealed that Sadiq worked as domestic help for Tariq Parveen, a close associate of fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim, at his home in Mumbai and then in Dubai between 1996 to October 2002. The CBI has said that Sadiq left Dubai following an altercation with Parveen’s associate, a Pakistan-based gangster Salim Chiplun.

According to the CBI, SIB, Mumbai generated an intelligence input claiming that he was associated with D-Gang and allegedly planning to kill saffron leaders. In November 2002, he was arrested with five others for gambling at Bhavnagar police station limit and was released on bail.

The chargesheet stated that Sadiq left for Mumbai since he was fearing arrest in an old case. Sometime in December, he was arrested “in a stage-managed joint operation” conducted by the SIB, Mumbai and Central Intelligence Unit, Andheri, of Mumbai Crime Branch. On January 2, 2003, Tarun Barot, took custody of Sadiq from the Mumbai Police and brought him to Ahmedabad.

On January 12, 2003, he was taken in a tempo traveller to the Sai Baba Complex near Galaxy cinema in Naroda area where he was allegedly shot dead at around 1.15 am. Eleven rounds were fired by the encounter team, including five to six rounds from the service revolvers of police inspectors Parmar and Saiyed. The CBI investigation found there was no evidence suggesting Sadiq was working for any terror outfit.