Ahmedabad:
Ishrat Jehan's family on Tuesday held a press conference in Mumbai after a judicial probe on Monday revealed that the 19-year-old was killed by the Gujarat police in 2004 in a fake encounter.
The report said that Ishrat and others were killed in the fake encounter so that police officials could get rewards and promotions. Top Gujarat police officers have been accused of her murder.
While demanding severe punishment for the culprits, local activist Rauf Lala said that Gujarat police officers D G Vanzara and N K Amin, who are now in jail for the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, harassed Ishrat's family when they went to Ahmedabad to collect her body.
He alleged that an encounter specialist from Mumbai may have helped the Gujarat police in picking up Ishrat from Mumbai. He also thanked the media for help.
"My sister Ishrat was even scared of cockroaches. She was totally innocent," said Ishrat's brother, Anwar Sheikh.
While remembering her sister Ishrat, Mussarat said, "I knew we would win the legal fight in the end. We said from the start that she was innocent. She loved the country as much as all of you."
"We are still scared. These five years were the worst in our lives. Everyone had deserted us," said Mussarat, Ishrat's sister.
Mussarat also said that they got to know of the verdict on Monday evening.
"What did they get from killing my sister," asked Mussarat, Isharat's sister.
"This could be the conspiracy of a politician. Whoever is involved should be punished, even if it's Narendra Modi," she said.
Ishrat's mother, who also present at the press conference, said that after Ishrat's killing, her family's has gone through a lot.
"Only we know what we have gone through in these five years. My children have not been able to study, their careers have been ruined. I am happy that this verdict will remove this blot from our family. My children can now have a career," said Ishrat's mother.