Ahmedabad:
One of Gujarat's senior-most policemen, Abhay Chudasama, has been arrested in connection with the Sohrabuddin fake encouter. Chudasam is the chief of the Ahmedabad Crime Branch.
He is also the 14th police officer to be arrested for the abduction and murder of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife, Kausar Bi, in 2005, near Ahmedabad. The police pretended that Sohrabuddin was a terrorist; they shot him dead in a fake encounter.
Sohrabbudin's death was first investigated by the Gujarat CID but came under severe criticism from the Supreme Court for deliberately moving too slowly, and for shoddy investigation. It was then handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The CBI has charged Chudasama with trying to influence witnesses into changing their testimony. He also allegedly arranged the guns that were used to stage the encounter, including one that was planted on Sohrabuddin.
Sohrabuddin and his wife were on a bus near Gandhinagar in 2005 when they were grabbed by the police and taken to a farmhouse.
The couple was then taken to a farmhouse. Later, Sohrabbudin was allegedly taken by the police to a highway nearby. Several bullets were fired to make it seem like Sohrabuddin had attacked the police. Kausar Bi was taken away from the farmhouse and was never found. Investigating officials suspect she was set on fire.
Three senior police officers who were arrested earlier for the fake encounter include former Deputy Inspector General DG Vanzara, Superintendent of Police Rajkumar Pandyan, both from the Gujarat Police, and Superintendent of Police Dinesh MN of the Rajasthan police force.