Sohrabuddin-Prajapati Encounter Case: Cop Tells Court He is Innocent

Mumbai, Nov 27 (PTI) A policeman who the CBI claims was part of the team that allegedly shot Sohrabuddin Shaikh in a "fake" encounter in November 2005 told a special court here Tuesday that he was innocent and had been wrongly listed in a charge sheet.

Abdul Rehman, an inspector with Rajasthan Police at that time, recorded his statement under section 313 before special CBI judge S J Sharma.

Under this provision, after examination of witnesses, a final chance is given to an accused to record his statement.

Rehman, according to the CBI charge sheet, was one of the police personnel who had fired at Sohrabuddin during the alleged encounter.

"The charge sheet against me was prepared based on false witnesses. I'm innocent. I have not participated in any police encounter," he said.

"I have not fired from the weapon seized by the probe agency during investigation and I have not visited Ahmedabad during that period," he told the court.

He said he had nothing to do with the alleged illegal detention of Sohrabuddin or his wife Kauser Bi.

Rehman also refuted the CBI's charge that he was part of the conspiracy to kill Tulsiram Prajapati.

"I had no knowledge of Tulsiram Prajapati's whereabouts. I did not give any information to anyone about it. I was twice part of the escort team that took Prajapati from Udaipur Jail to Ahmedabad to produce him in court. Other than this, I had no connection with him. I have been falsely implicated in this case," he said.

Rehman added he was not part of the escort team when Prajapti escaped from police custody.

Prajapati, according to police, had escaped from their custody near Himmatnagar police station when he was returning to Udaipur in a train.

"The agency prepared false witness against me and also pressured police officials to make false statements against me," Rehman told court.

The investigation agency compelled police officials to state that Prajapati was arrested on November 26, 2005, though, Rehman said he was arrested on November 29, 2005.

Rehman also told court that he wanted to examine defence witnesses.

Besides Rehman, six others police officials of Gujarat and Rajasthan and one private person recorded their statements Tuesday.

So far, nine out of 22 accused in Sohrabuddin-Prajapti fake encounter case have recorded their statements in court.

Most of them submitted before the court that they were innocent and had been falsely implicated, and claimed the case was due to political rivalries and enmity between senior police officials.

Himanshu Singh Rajawat, a sub-inspector with Rajasthan Police at that time and who was also allegedly part of the team that killed Sohrabuddin, said, "The case is because of rivalry between senior officers of Gujarat and facts were twisted. It was fuelled further because of prevailing political scenario."

Another official, Balkrishna Chaubey, then an inspector with Gujarat ATS, said, "I was never part of any such operation in ATS, more specifically the Sohrabuddin case. I was falsely named in the charge sheet. I never did anything wrong. This is a false case prepared and foisted on me with ulterior political motive because of rivalry of senior officers."

Sohrabuddin, a suspected gangster with terror links, was shot dead on November 26, 2005 while he was in the custody of Gujarat Police in an alleged fake encounter. His wife Kausar Bi was allegedly killed later.

Prajapati, an aide of Shaikh who was said to be a witness to the encounter, was allegedly killed by Gujarat and Rajasthan police personnel at Chapri in Gujarat's Banaskantha district in December 2006.

Of the 38 people charged by the CBI for the alleged fake encounters, 16 persons, including BJP chief Amit Shah (who was minister of state for home in Gujarat then) and all senior police officials, have been discharged.

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