Ishrat case: Court sends notice to CBI on Vanzara plea

A special court today issued notice to the CBI investigating officer over an application moved by suspended IPS officer D G Vanzara, an accused in the 2004 Ishrat Jahan encounter case, seeking copy of the supplementary charge sheet.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of CBI court H S Khutvad issued notice fixed the next date of hearing on February 25.
Vanzara's counsel V D Gajjar, seeking a copy of the supplementary charge sheet filed on February 6, contended, "Since cognisance has already been taken against Vanzara (as he was made an accused in the first charge sheet), the accused must get a copy of the charge sheet to make his case for bail strong."

Vanzara has moved a bail plea before special CBI judge Geeta Gopi, which will be heard on February 25.
Nearly a decade after Ishrat was allegedly killed in a fake encounter along with her friend Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, in Gujarat and two others, believed to be Pakistani nationals, the CBI, last week, filed a supplementary charge sheet naming Rajinder Kumar, who was the Joint Director of the IB, posted in Gujarat at that time.
He was charged with section 120-B (criminal conspiracy), section 302 (murder) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), besides various provisions of the Arms Act.

Along with Kumar, those named in the charge sheet are serving IB officers T Mittal, M K Sinha and Rajiv Wankhede, who have been booked for criminal conspiracy, wrongful confinement, kidnapping and wrongful concealment, besides under various sections of the Arms Act.
In its first charge sheet in the encounter case last year, the CBI had named IPS officer G L Singhal, suspended IPS officers P P Pandey, Tarun Barot and N K Amin besides Vanzara. The agency had also named retired DSP J G Parmar and commando Anaju Chaudhary.
The CBI accused all of them of murder and criminal conspiracy with regard to the encounter killing of the four.