We want complete justice demands the family

Mumbai: The CBI filed its first charge-sheet of Ishrat Jahan’s fake encounter case on Wednesday in Gujarat High Court. The CBI in its report maintained that Ishrat Jahan was not a terrorist nor she had any links to any terror group. Ishrat’s family welcomed the CBI report but also demanded that mastermind behind the fake encounter should also be named in the charge-sheet.

The CBI declared that the 2004 Ahmadabad encounter was fake and the operation was conducted jointly by the Police and Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB). The CBI named seven Gujarat police officers in its charge-sheet, including absconding Additional DGP PP Pandey and suspended DIG D G Vanzara.

The investigation is going on against four Intelligence Bureau officers, including its Special Director Rajinder Kumar, and three other officers — P Mittal, M K Sinha and Rajiv Wankhede. Supplementary chargesheet would be filed against IB officers once the investigation was over, the CBI told to the Court.

Apart from Pandey and Vanzara other Gujarat police officers who have been charge-sheeted are GL Singhal, Tarun Barot, NK Amin, JG Parmar and Anaju Chaudhary.

The Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah have not been named in the CBI charge-sheet. While talking to media here Ishrat’s younger sister Mussarrat said, “the masterminds who conspired Ishrat’s fake encounter must be unmasked and brought to justice. We welcome the CBI report but we aren’t satisfied as killers, who just clicked the trigger have been charge-sheeted but their bosses who ordered it are still not named”.

Ishrat’s mother and sister came to the press conference along with NCP leader Jitendra Awhad and social activist Rauf Lala. Ishrat’s mother Shamima Kausar said, “I am saying it from the day one that my daughter was innocent, now CBI relieved us from the stigma of being family of a terrorist”.  “We want death penalty for Ishrat’s killers” she further added. The family also talked about its horrific experiences post fake encounter as Ishrat’s brother wasn’t getting a job nor they could find a groom for Nusrat.
 
NCP leader Jitendra Awhad maintained that his stand in supporting Ishrat’s family isn’t political. He said, “Ishrat’s mother is just a mother, we shouldn’t colour it as Hindu or Muslim. Whatever happened with Ishrat can happen with anybody of us and for true and complete justice it is needed that masterminds should be brought in the charge-sheet.”

Social activist Rauf Lala, who has been supporting the family since the encounter declared the CBI charge-sheet as half justice. Lala said, “We are saying it from the beginning Ishrat was innocent. Today CBI proved our claim but half justice isn’t justice, we demand that the then Gujarat ministers who ordered the encounter should also be named in the report.”

Ishrat Jahan (19) along with Javed Ghulam Sheikh alias Pranesh Kumar Pillai, Amjad Ali alias Rajkumar Akbar Ali Rana and Jisan Johar Abdul Gani was gunned down by the Gujarat Police in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. The police alleged that Ishrat and three others were Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants who conspired to assassinate Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.