Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case: CBI court discharges ex-IPS DG Vanzara
Mumbai, August 1, 2017
A CBI court on Tuesday discharged retired police officer DG Vanzara and MN Dinesh in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case. Vanzara, now retired, was the then Gujarat ATS chief. Dinesh, an IPS officer, was with the Rajasthan Police. The total number of accused discharged by the court now stands at 15.
On Monday, the court rejected the discharge application of two Rajasthan police officers Himanshu Singh and Shyam Singh Charan. The two police sub-inspectors are accused in the case and were then part of the Rajasthan police. The CBI had opposed their discharge, submitting before the court that they were among the main accused and that they were accused of firing shots at Sheikh.
A special court in Mumbai is hearing the case after the Supreme Court ordered for the trial to be transferred out of Gujarat. The discharge plea of some of the accused is still pending, after which the trial will begin in the case. A total of 38 persons were named as accused in the case initially.
In November 2005, Sheikh, along with his wife Kausarbi and associate Tulsiram Prajapati, was travelling in a Sangli-bound bus from Hyderabad. A police team chased the bus and forced the three to alight and took them to Ahmedabad, where they were eventually killed. The CID had alleged that it was made to appear that Sheikh was escaping, while he was shot at by cops.(Agencies)
