File picture of BJP leader Gulabchand Kataria
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a supplementary chargesheet in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case which names senior BJP leader and former Rajasthan Home Minister Gulabchand Kataria. The BJP leader faces charges of murder along with three others who have been named.
One of the accused in the supplementary chargesheet is Vimal Patni, who is the director of RK Marble. The CBI said that it was alleged that Sohrabuddin, a small-time criminal, had demanded Rs 24 crore as protection money from Mr Patni and that is why he was eliminated.
Mr Kataria was allegedly a link between Mr Patni and former Home Minister of Gujarat Amit Shah. According to CBI, Mr Shah was the "kingpin" of the conspiracy to kill Sohrabuddin. He was arrested in July 2010 but released on bail after three months. Mr Shah is known to be a close aide of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Also named in the supplementary chargesheet are, Narsimha Balasubramaniam, the Inspector General of Andhra Pradesh, and Datamani Rao, a police inspector from Andhra Pradesh. They allegedly helped the Gujarat Police to execute the operation.
Sohrabuddin and his wife Kauser Bi were allegedly abducted by Gujarat's Anti-Terrorism Squad from Hyderabad and killed in a fake encounter near Gandhinagar in November 2005. A year later, the sole witness to his murder, Tulsiram Prajapati, was also shot dead by the cops.