Author: PNS
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: July 27, 2011
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/356283/CBI-planted-witnesses-to-fix-Amit-Shah.html
A sting operation by a private TV news channel
showing that CBI put pressure on witnesses in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter
case to implicate former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah has raised serious
questions about the impartiality of the CBI probe in the case.
The 'sting' showed two witnesses admitting
to the undercover reporter that they had named Shah. The Minister's name,
they said, was included at the behest of the CBI, which recorded their statements.
While the BJP said the news report has exposed
the CBI, the Supreme Court did not allow Shah's advocate Ram Jethmalani to
place the material on record. However, Jethmalani could raise this issue at
some points during the proceedings related to CBI plea to cancel Shah's bail
plea.
Pointing fingers at the CBI, the BJP said
it would seek legal advice to take appropriate action against the agency's
officials who are a part of the conspiracy to falsely implicate Shah through
coercion of witnesses and manipulation of evidences.
The VCD of the sting, which was shown to the
media at the BJP headquarters here, claims that the firing at Popular Builders
premises was not done by the police at the behest of Shah - as claimed in
the CBI chargesheet - but by Sohrabuddin himself after its owners, Patel brothers,
reneged on a promise to pay him for a job.
"Some important CBI witnesses have clearly
said in this sting operation that CBI has wrongly quoted them while recording
statements, which implicates Amit Shah. The agency put words in their mouths.
CBI also assured them that if they cooperated with the CBI, they would help
them in getting out of the Popular Builder case," said BJP spokesperson
Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Maintaining that the "shocking truth"
disclosed by the witnesses reaffirms BJP's stand that the investigation of
the Sohrabuddin case was politically motivated, mala fide, biased for a defined
extraneous political purpose.
"Niyammudin (Sohrabuddin's brother) has
specifically stated in the sting operation that the CBI only used them for
their purposes to achieve their objective and afterwards discarded them in
a 'use and throw' manner," Prasad said.
The Gujarat Government has said the sting
operation has proved that the Centre is misusing the CBI to harass the democratically
elected Government in the State.
"The sting operation has revealed the
truth and exposed the Central Government's motive of defaming the Gujarat
Government," said Gujarat Government spokesman and Health Minister Jay
Narayan Vyas.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court refused to examine
contents of the damning sting operation exposing the CBI. However, the agency
suffered a setback after the court directed the senior counsel representing
the agency to withdraw from the case as he appeared for the Gujarat Government
in a case earlier.
Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani placed the
material of the sting operation in the form of an affidavit before a bench
of Justices Aftab Alam and RM Lodha. The sting operation recorded by a news
channel in October 2010 had interviewed two crucial witnesses in the case
-- Sohrabuddin's brother Naimuddin and one Mohammad Azam Khan -- both believed
to be the persons who named Shah as the key conspirator in the murder of Sohraduddin
in November 2005.
Showing the transcript of the tapes along
with the originals, Jethmalani said, "This record is relevant as evidence
as it is a sting operation done on two extremely vital witnesses, which has
a bearing on the outcome of the cases pending in this court."
The witnesses were shown admitting to the
undercover reporter not to have named Shah. The Minister's name, they said,
was included at the instance of the CBI official who recorded their statement.
But Jethmalani's request for permission to
place the affidavit with the case records failed to meet the judges' approval.
The Bench said, "Why are you adding unnecessary material to the files.
Already CBI has a lot of material to defend. Better to end the proceedings
than to have an unending proceeding." Moreover, it noted that the trial
was "onerous" for Shah too, whose bail was on condition that he
stay out of Gujarat.
The court fixed the matter for hearing on
August 17, asking amicus curiae senior counsel Gopal Subramanium to continue
with his assistance.
Interestingly, the affidavit by Shah pointed
out that the "CBI itself organised sting operation by Raman Patel and
Dashrath Patel and used the transcripts as evidence in support of the chargesheet"
to frame Shah and two other police officers, alleged to have threatened the
witnesses at Shah's behest.
The court also asked senior advocate KTS Tulsi,
appearing for CBI for over a year in the case, to withdraw. While all along
the court was aware of the State's objection that Tulsi cannot appear for
CBI as he previously represented the State in the same case, yet in a dramatic
turn on Tuesday the Bench said, "It may not be proper for you (Tulsi)
to appear anymore in the case. You will understand as you are a senior advocate
and a member of Law Commission. Even here and there (in trial court) you are
appearing for prosecutor."
This was sufficient indication for Tulsi to
voluntarily return the CBI file.