Sohrabuddin Sheikh Encounter: Gujarat Police Officer Who Probed Case Suspended a Day Before Hearing

Mumbai, December 21: Gujarat cadre IPS officer Rajnish Rai has been suspended by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) just a day before a special CBI court in Mumbai is due to pronounce its verdict in the high profile case of alleged fake encounters of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, wife Kauser Bi and his aide Tulsiram Prajapati, reported the English daily The Hindu. CBI Special Court to Declare Verdict in Sohrabuddin Fake Encounter Case on December 21.

Rai is currently serving in the Counter Insurgency and Anti-Terrorism (CIAT) School of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, said the report. He is a 1992 batch IPS officer of Gujarat cadre. Rajnish Rai was among the first investigating officers in the case and had arrested three IPS officers including D.G. Vanjara.

Rai had applied for Voluntary Retirement Case in August, 2018. But the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) rejected his plea. He then stopped attending the office, saying his duty ended after office hours of 30/11/2018.

He was serving at (CIAT) School of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh.

The Special CBI Court in Mumbai, which has been hearing the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, will pronounce its verdict on December 21. The judgement is likely to have political ramifications, as the case had drawn widespread flak against the erstwhile Gujarat government led by Narendra Modi.

Among the prime accused in the case was BJP national president Amit Shah -- who was discharged by the court in 2014. The CBI was criticised by the Opposition for not appealing against the order. The agency, however, defended its decision, calling it "conscious" and "reasonable".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 21, 2018 12:23 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).