File photo of BJP leader Amit Shah.
Amit Shah, Narendra Modi's close aide and the man who scripted the BJP's fantastic electoral performance in Uttar Pradesh, has been exempted from appearing before a CBI court in Mumbai today in connection with the 2006 Tulsiram Prajapati 'fake' encounter case that was transferred from Gujarat to Mumbai.
The CBI filed a charge-sheet in the case in September last year and named Mr Shah, the former Home Minister of Gujarat, along with 18 others, including several police officers. Mr. Shah has been booked for criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence and offences under the Arms Act. Mr Prajapati was a key witness in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh 'fake' encounter case.
he court is likely to pass orders on Mr Shah's discharge plea on June 16. Mr Shah is accused no 16 in a total of 38 people. He filed the plea earlier and the arguments on his plea have been completed.
On the first day of hearing on May 9, the judge had asked Mr Shah to be present in court on May 23. But the hearing was deferred to June 6, as the designated CBI judge was on leave. The regular hearings in the case will commence from June 20.
Four of the accused, who are in custody have also filed bail pleas on Friday and the court is likely to pass orders on those pleas on June 16.
Sohrabuddin, his wife Kauser Bi and Tulsiram were traveling on a bus from Andhra Pradesh in 2005 when they were allegedly abducted by the Gujarat police. Sohrabuddin and his wife were killed a few days later. Tulsiram, the sole witness to their abduction, was shot dead a year later; the police claimed that he was trying to escape from their custody.
The CBI had said both Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Prajapati killings were inter-connected and part of the same transaction. And for that reason the agency has argued that the trials for the two cases have to take place together.