CBI wanted to implicate Modi, Shah in Ishrat case: Vanzara's counsel

Agencies
June 6, 2018

Ahmedabad, Jun 6: Former police officer D G Vanzara's lawyer told a special court that it appeared the CBI wanted to "implicate" the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his former cabinet colleague Amit Shah in the 2004 Ishrat Jahan encounter case.

Arguing for his client's discharge plea filed in the court of special judge J K Pandya, Vanzara's lawyer V D Gajjar said going by the statements of witnesses recorded by the CBI, it appeared the "intention of the investigating agency was to implicate" Modi and Shah in the case.

"Fortunately" this did not happen, Gajjar said.

Modi, now the prime minister, was the chief minister of Gujarat during the time and Shah served as Minister of State for Home under him.

The CBI had in 2014 given a clean chit to Shah, now BJP president, citing insufficient evidence against him.

In his submission, Gajjar said the charge sheet filed against his client was "concocted" and there was no prosecutable evidence against him.

He said statements of witnesses in the case were not reliable as accused like Bharat Patel and I K Chauhan, among others, were made witnesses without following due process.

The lawyer maintained the encounter was "genuine" and that the fake encounter story was "concocted".

Vanzara, out on bail in the alleged fake encounter case, said in his discharge application that Modi was secretly interrogated by the investigating officer of the case.

"However, such material was not placed on record of this case," the former IPS officer said.

Vanzara, the former Deputy Inspector-General of Police, has presented this as one of the points to press for his discharge in the case.

The CBI has opposed his plea along with that of another former Gujarat Police officer N K Amin, a co-accused, who has also moved a discharge plea in the same court.

The central agency has claimed it has enough evidence to establish its charges against Vanzara and Amin.

The court, which has concluded hearing the plea of Amin, a retired superintendent of police, fixed June 15 for further hearing of Vanzara's petition.

Jahan, a 19-year-old college girl from Mumbai, and three others -- Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar -- were killed in an encounter with the police on Ahmedabad's outskirts on June 15, 2004.

The Gujarat police had then claimed they had terror links and plotted to kill the then chief minister Modi.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the Gujarat High Court, had concluded that it was a "fake" encounter. Following the finding, the HC had transferred the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

In the first charge sheet filed by the CBI in 2013, seven Gujarat police officers were named as accused, including IPS officers P P Pandey, Vanzara and G L Singhal. They faced charges of kidnapping, murder and criminal conspiracy.

Pandey had been discharged in the case.

The CBI had named four IB officials, including special director Rajinder Kumar and officer M S Sinha, in the supplementary charge sheet. However, the Centre is yet to give its sanction for their prosecution.

Vanzara was last year discharged in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram alleged fake encounter cases along with Rajasthan IPS officer Dinesh M N.

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Agencies
May 31,2020

New Delhi, May 31: Indian aviation regulator DGCA on Saturday said the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights will continue till midnight on June 30, hours after the Home Ministry announced fresh guidelines pertaining to the countrywide lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

"It is once again reiterated that foreign airlines shall be suitably informed about the opening of their operations to or from India in due course," the circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.

Domestic passenger flight services resumed in the country from Monday after a hiatus of two months since the lockdown was announced on March 25, when all scheduled commercial passenger flights were suspended in India. International flights continue to remain suspended even now.

The Home Ministry on Saturday said 'Unlock-1' will be initiated in the country from June 8 under which the nationwide lockdown effectuated on March 25 will be relaxed to a great extent, including opening of shopping malls, restaurants and religious places, even as strict restrictions will remain in place till June 30 in the country's worst pandemic-hit areas.

International air travel shall remain suspended, the MHA order said, adding that a decision on when to resume it would be taken after making an assessment of the situation.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Bhopal, Mar 4: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister  Kamal Nath on Tuesday asserted that there was no threat to his government.

Nath's comments came when he was asked about reports of alleged 'poaching' attempts being made by the opposition BJP in the state.

“The legislators are telling me that they are being offered so much money. I am telling the MLAs to take it, if they are getting this free money,” Nath told reporters here on the sidelines of a programme.

Congress veteran Digvijaya Singh on Monday alleged that his party MLAs were being offered “huge money by BJP leaders” as part of the saffron party's “poaching” attempt to destablise the Kamal Nath government.

When Nath was asked about any threat to the stability of his government in Madhya Pradesh, he said, “There is nothing to worry about.”

Reacting to Nath's statement, state BJP spokesman Rajneesh Agrawal told PTI that his party has nothing to do with the allegations.

“In fact, these speculations and allegations are part of the internal bickering of among Congress leaders to get nominated for the Rajya Sabha polls,” he said.

After Digvijaya Singh's remarks on Monday, senior BJP leader and former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan accused the Congress veteran of making false statements to create sensationalism.

“Speaking lies to create sensationalism is Digvijaya's habit. Probably some of his (Digivijaya's) works were not done and he wants to create pressure on the CM to get them done,” Chouhan alleged.

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News Network
March 28,2020

Amaravati, Mar 28: The state governments of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka carried out a joint quarantine operation to help over a thousand migrant labourers from various districts of Andhra Pradesh.
The Andhra Pradesh administration received the information that 1,334 migrant labourers were trying to return to the state after obtaining passes from the Deputy Director of Fisheries in Mangalore, Karnataka.
The labourers, according to a press release by the Andhra Pradesh government, were headed towards the Nangili Toll Plaza in Kolar district, from where they would enter the state to return to their native places.
"The Chittoor Collector, Superintendent of Police and Sub-Collector rushed to the spot to coordinate with their counterparts from Kolar, Karnataka. The migrant workers were not permitted to enter AP due to the lockdown and the guidelines of the Union as well as state government," according to the release.
Instead, both the governments decided to initiate a joint quarantine operation in Kolar while taking precautionary measures to ensure that none of the labourers are carriers of the COVID-19 infection.
The Andhra government also reassured the Kolar administration that it will provide doctors, healthcare and all other facilities. It has also issued directions for logistical support, food, water, transport to take the labourers to quarantine facility, and medical team, consisting of 12 doctors, 22 supervisors and other staff, to be provided.
While the Prime Minister had imposed a nationwide lockdown, including the suspension of inter-state travel to prevent the spread of coronavirus, migrant workers and labourers around the country have started returning back to their native places fearing joblessness and cash crunch.
Andhra Pradesh as of Saturday 9:30 am, had 14 confirmed cases of coronavirus while Karnataka's count stood at 55, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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