Nine years after the alleged fake encounter involving Ishrat Jahan and three others, the stage is set for the trial in the case when a special CBI court committed the case today to the sessions court here.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) H S Khutwad of the CBI court ordered to commit the 2004 Ishrat Jahan encounter killing case to the sessions court for trial against seven accused cops including suspended IPS officer P P Pandey.
On July 3, 2013, the CBI filed the chargesheet against seven accused Gujarat cops including P P Pandey, D G Vanzara, G L Singhal, Tarun Barot, N K Amin, J G Parmar and Anaju Chaudhary. In its chargesheet, the CBI had stated that the encounter was fake.
All seven were charged under the provisions of Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, among others, which attracts punishment of life imprisonement and more, and such a case can be tried only before the sessions court.
The next date of hearing has been fixed on September 10, when sessions court will decide futher procedure in the case, said advocate Brijrajsinh Jhala who is representing G L Singhal in this case.
Mumbra college girl Ishrat (19), Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in the encounter with the Gujarat police on the outskirts of the city on June 15, 2004.
At that time, the Gujarat police had claimed that all four were "terrorists" who entered the city to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
