Ishrat Jahan encounter: CBI ruffles IB's feathers by making officer an accused

The CBI’s decision to summon and record the statement of Special Director of Intelligence Bureau Rajendra Kumar as an accused in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case seems to have ruffled feathers within the IB’s top brass. According to a report in  the Economic Times, Director of Intelligence Bureau Asif Ibrahim, met CBI Director Ranjit Sinha at on Tuesday afternoon to express concern over the CBI’s decision to question Kumar as an accused. Ibrahim had also repeatedly met Home Secretary RK Singh over the issue. [caption id=“attachment_864999” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ishrat Jahan. IBNLive[/caption] Kumar, a 1979-batch IPS officer from Madhya Pradesh cadre was earlier questioned by the CBI on 31 May over the department’s input that alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists were on their way to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. This time, Kumar has been asked to present himself before the agency and record his statement as an accused in the case, CBI sources were quoted as saying. Fresh notices under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure have been issued as previous examination of the officer was not satisfactory and replies given by him appeared diversionary. A decision about his custodial interrogation will be taken only after the fresh round of questioning. The role of the officer who was posted in State Intelligence Bureau in 2004 had come under the scanner of the agency for the allegedly fake input. CBI officials said Kumar’s  statement would be crucial in finalising the charge sheet in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case as he was alleged to have played a crucial role in generating an intelligence input about purported plan of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists to kill Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. The CBI on the instruction of the Gujarat High Court took over the probe of the fake encounter in which 19-year-old Ishrat, Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in Ahmedabad on 15 June, 2004 allegedly by a Crime Branch team led by DIG DG Vanzara. In another development in connection with the case, CBI has intensified efforts to nab additional DGP of Gujarat PP Pandey, who has allegedly gone absconding even as warrants have been issued by special CBI court against him. The 1980-batch IPS officer from Gujarat cadre was the Joint Commissioner of Police in Ahmedabad in 2004,  when Ishrat was killed in a fake encounter allegedly by crime branch officials in June. with PTI inputs