Accused says Sohrabuddin case is about pol rivalry

The first accused who deposed before the special CBI court conducting the trial of the sensational Sohrabuddin Shaikh-Tulsiram Prajapati twin fake encounter cases, on Monday said that the case was a matter of rivalry between two political parties and top police brass.

Police inspector Narayansing Dhabi, who was then attached to the Anti-Terrorism Squad of the Gujarat police, was the first accused to depose before additional sessions judge SJ Sharma (who presides over a special CBI court) for mandatory recording of his statement under section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

"I don't know," was the response of Dhabi to the series of questions that judge Sharma asked him during the deposition, that went on for over three hours.
"The entire case is an account of the political rivalry between two political parties and senior police officials... I had no personal grudge or enmity against the deceased," Dhabi told the court.

In the chargesheet, it has been alleged that Dhabi was one of those who was present at the spot of the encounter of Sohrabuddin Shaikh.

"Right from the beginning, this case has been falsely foisted upon me. The entire evidence produced on record is fabricated, manipulated and concocted," he said, adding that he did not commit any offence as alleged in the chargesheet.

On Monday, the judge took up the recording of statement under 313 of the CrPC following the conclusion of deposition of witnesses in the case last week.
There are 18 accused facing trial in the case.

There are a total of 210 witnesses in the case of which 92 had turned hostile.

BJP president Amit Shah, who was a former home minister of Gujarat, deputy inspector general DG Vanzara, who headed the ATS are among those who had been discharged in the case.

According to the CBI, that has investigated the case, Sohrabuddin Shaikh, a gangster with links to Laskhar-e-Taiba, was eliminated in a fake encounter on November 26, 2005 near Ahmedabad.

His wife, Kausar Bi went missing - and was raped and strangulated to death two days later in Illol village in Sabarkantha district.

Besides, gangster Tulsiram Prajapati, who was an associate and friend of Sohrabuddin, was a witness to the latter's encounter, was allegedly eliminated in a fake encounter in Chhapri village in Amreli district.

During his deposition before judge Sharma, Dhabi denied any knowledge on the encounters of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, Tulsiram Prajapati and the disappearance and murder of Kausar Bi.

"It has been told by the witness that Sohrabuddin Shaikh and Kausar Bi were abducted from a bus," judge Sharma asked, to which Dhabi replied: "I don't know".

When he was asked that Sharad Apte and Amit Apte were travelling in the same bus as Sohrabuddin, Kausar Bi and Prajapati, he said: "I don't know".