HIMANSHU SINGH RAJAWAT Vs. CBI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two applications can be conveniently disposed of by this common order, as the applicants in both these applications are the accused in one and the same case, that is case arising out of R.C. No. BS1/S/2010/0004 dated 1/2/2010 registered with CBI SCB, Mumbai. Both of them were working as Sub-Inspectors of Police in District Udaipur, Rajasthan, at the material time. The facts of the case were noticed while dealing with the Bail Applications previously filed by some other accused in the said case. As a matter of fact, the applicant Shyam Singh Charan (BA No. 715/14) had also previously filed an application for bail before this Court which was rejected by me by an order dated 10th July 2013 (BA No. 1984/12). The facts of the case were mentioned in the said order. However, for the sake of convenience, they may be reproduced again here.

(2.) The case of the Investigating Agency, in brief, is that the police officials of Anti Terrorists Squad (ATS), Gujarat, and Special Task Force, Rajasthan, entered into a criminal conspiracy to abduct one Sohrabuddin Shaikh from Andhra Pradesh in order to kill him. That the said Sohrabuddin Shaikh, who had some criminal background, was attempting to extort money from some powerful businessmen from Gujarat and Rajasthan who had approached political leaders for their protection. It was thereafter planned, by taking high ranking Police Officers in confidence, that Sohrabuddin Shaikh should be got killed and should be shown as having died in an encounter with the police. Pursuant to this conspiracy hatched, Sohrabuddin, his wife Kausarbi, and one more person - Tulsiram Prajapati - were abducted from Andhra Pradesh and brought to Ahmedabad by the Police Officials from Rajasthan and Gujarat. They were confined in a farm house near Ahmedabad for sometime. Later on, Sohrabuddin was killed by the police. As preplanned, it was projected as if he had been killed in an encounter with the police. Preparation had already been made for lodging of a false First Information Report to the effect that Sohrabuddin had come to Ahmedabad for killing a prominent political leader, and that Sohrabuddin was to do this with the cooperation and help of Pakistan Based Intelligence Agency ISI, and Terrorist Outfit Laskare Toyeba. A story was cooked up that since the police were in receipt of this information, they had kept a watch at a particular point on the road by which Sohrabuddin, as per the information received, was to come; That, when Sohrabuddin came to the said place on a motorcycle, he was asked to stop by the police, but he did not respond to the said call and opened fire on police. The police officers fired in retaliation, and in this firing, Sohrabuddin fell down on being hit by the bullets fired by the police.

(3.) A First Information Report to this effect viz. that a person who had come to kill a prominent political leader with the cooperation of the Pakistan Based Intelligence Agency etc., was killed in an encounter with the police, was lodged, as preplanned, by the accused No. 7 Abdul Rehman PI, and was registered with the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS), Gujarat in respect of offences punishable under sections 120B IPC, 121 IPC, 121A IPC, 122 IPC, 307 IPC, 186 IPC, 24 of the IPC, vide C.R. No. 5 of 2005 of ATS Police Station. The said case was investigated into by Accused No. 4 Mukeshbhai Parmar, working as Dy. Superintendent of Police, ATS Gujarat, at the material time, who filed an abated Summary Report.