Ishrat Jahan case: CBI court discharges retired Gujarat DGP P P Pandey

Ahmedabad: CBI court on Wednesday allowed discharge plea of retired Gujarat DGP P P Pandey. He was an accused in Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case. Former retired Gujarat DGP P P Pandey (Image: PTI/ File) In the first charge sheet filed by the CBI in 2013, seven Gujarat police officers were named as accused, including IPS officers P P Pandey, D G Vanzara and G L Singhal, facing charges for kidnapping, murder and conspiracy. The special CBI court judge J K Pandya allowed Pandey's discharge application on the ground that there was no evidence against him related to the kidnapping and murder of Ishrat Jahan and three others. The court also said that no witnesses accused Pandey of the murder and kidnapping of the victims. Further commenting on the case, the court also said that the witnesses' evidences were contradictory as they gave different evidences to different investigating agencies. The court also held that being a government servant, permission to prosecute Pandey was not taken by the investigating officer from the state before filing of the charge sheet against him, as per section 197 of the CrPC. The CBI had named four IB officials, including IB's special director Rajinder Kumar and officer M S Sinha, in supplementary charge sheet, which still awaits the Centre's sanction. In 2004, Ishrat Jahan and three others were killed in an alleged staged shootout in Gujarat. Police had claimed that they were Lashkar-e-Taiba militants on a mission to kill then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.