Sohrabuddin Encounter Case: All 22 Accused Including Gujarat, Rajasthan Cops Acquitted By Special CBI Court

All the 22 accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh Fake Encounter case were acquitted by a Special CBI Court in Mumbai today (21 December), reports Bar and Bench.

The Special CBI Judge SJ Sharma ruled that there was not enough substantial evidence and witnesses to prove the alleged charges of conspiracy and fake encounter killings of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, his wife Kausar Bi and right-hand man Tulsiram Prajapati.

The Court noted that despite the best efforts of CBI, who produced 210 witnesses, there was not enough circumstantial evidence to establish the case.

The case was taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in 2010. The Special CBI Public Prosecutor BP Raju submitted that CBI acquired most of the evidence placed on record during its probe.

Raju also argued that the trial was considerably impeded by 92 of the 210 witnesses turning hostile.

The CBI chargesheeted 38 accused in 2012 and discharged 16 of them which included former Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Katari, BJP President Amit Shah, and Gujarat Police Chief DG Vanza.

A Supreme Court order in 2013 shifted the case from Gujarat to Mumbai. Incidentally, this is the last case in the career of the judge, who expressed solidarity to the victims but stood by his judgement.

Sohrabuddin Sheikh, a gangster with alleged terror links, was encountered by the Gujarat and Rajasthan Police in November 2005, with his wife being killed three days later. His associate Tulsiram Prajapati was killed a year later in December 2006.