Sohrabuddin fake encounter: HC upholds discharge of Vanzara, others

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday dismisses petitions challenging discharge of top cops DG Vanzara, former DIG, Gujarat ATS, police officers Rajkumar Pandian and Dinesh MN in connection with the 2005-2006 fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, ANI reported.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi and their aide Tulsiram Prajapati, the sole witness to the murders were killed in “fake” encounters by the police of the two states in 2005-2006.

Sohrabuddin’s brother Rubabuddin, filed three of these five pleas and had challenged the discharge granted in the case by the trial court to Vanzara, Dinesh, Pandiyan.

Justice A M Badar, who conducted detailed daily hearings on the revision petitions for about two weeks in July, said the applications were “devoid of merit”, according to a leading news agency.

During the hearing, the court had said it would not be affected by the fact that a large number of witnesses have turned hostile in Sohrabuddin encounter case.

Of the 38 accused, 15 have been discharged by the trial court in Mumbai between 2014 and 2017.

Those discharged included 14 police officials and BJP president Amit Shah.