Ishrat Jahan case: Trial may be delayed as CBI waits for permission to arrest IB officials

Ahmedabad: Trial of the 2004 Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, which is yet to start, is likely to be delayed for want of sanction to prosecute four officials of the Intelligence Bureau. The Union Home Ministry has not given the sanction which is required to prosecute the government officials. [caption id=“attachment_2084477” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Ibnlive[/caption] “The trial has yet not commenced and the matter is at the stage of framing of charge. The CBI has submitted supplementary charge sheet, but the same is pending for the registration on the aspect of legality of the same,” special CBI court’s judge KR Upadhyaya said in his yesterday’s order granting bail to IPS officers PP Pandey and DG Vanzara. Due to want of sanction under the section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the second charge sheet has not been taken on record even after a year. CBI is yet to get the sanction of the Union Home Ministry to prosecute former Special Director Rajendra Kumar, Tarun Mittal, MK Sinha and Rajiv Wankhede, all IB officials. Kumar is charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping and also under the Arms act in this supplementary charge sheet filed in February last year. The other three are charged for the same offences except the murder. According to CBI, the killing of Jahan and three others in a fake encounter in 2004 was result of joint conspiracy of Gujarat police and the IB. PTI