Playing the communal card ahead of the Assembly elections, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has justified the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in a police encounter, asserting that "he got what he deserved".
Addressing an election meeting at Mangrol in South Gujarat yesterday, Modi questioned the crowd as to what should have been done to a man who dealt with illegal arms and ammunition, to which it shouted back "kill him".
"Then if I have done anything wrong, let the government of Sonia Gandhi hang me," he said.
"Congress president Sonia Gandhi speaks about terrorism. But she has lost the right to talk on this because even after a year of Supreme Court's verdict, confirming the death sentence of Afzal Guru, in the Parliament attack case, nothing has been done towards adhering to the apex court's order," Modi said.
The fake encounter of Sohrabuddin and later the death of his wife Kauser Bi in mysterious circumstances stirred a lot of controversy.
Earlier, the state government had admitted in Supreme Court that Sohrabuddin was killed in a fake encounter. Three IPS officers, including DIG border range D G Vanzara, who was formerly heading the Anti-Terrorist Squad of the Gujarat police, were arrested in connection with the case.