Ishrat chargesheet: CBI targets IB officials, spares Amit Shah

The Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to delve in detail the role of four Intelligence Bureau officials, including the former Special Director Rajinder Kumar, in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case in its supplementary charge sheet which has been finalised.

CBI sources said on Monday that its investigating officers will give details of the role played by Rajinder Kumar, Rajeev Wankhede, M K Sinha, and T Mittal -- all IB officials who were posted at its Gujarat unit when the encounter took place in 2004. The charge sheet has been sent to CBI Director Ranjit Sinha for his approval.

The sources said that Amit Shah, a former Gujarat minister and a close aide of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, may not be named in the charge sheet which is likely to be filed soon.

They said although the team's findings have been finalised a final decision on the charge sheet could only be taken by the CBI Director.

The CBI director can raises questions on the findings and may ask for further probe on any issue mentioned in the final report submitted by the investigating officers.

The sources said the supplementary charge sheet may not given antecedents of the victims -- Ishrat Jahan, Javed Sheikh, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar but could be mentioned in another supporting charge sheet that is being mulled by the agency.

Agency sources said a final decision on the antecedents of the victims could be taken if the agency gets a reply to its judicial request from Pakistan. Johar and Rana were alleged to be Pakistani terrorists who had come to eliminate BJP leaders, the sources said, adding the agency is looking to trace their background but remained unsuccessful so far.

The sources said this may not be final charge sheet in the case. The agency might file one more charge sheet giving further details on the meetings involving Gujarat officials and ministers which took place purportedly to save the police officials who were named as accused in the encounter.

Gujarat Police had claimed in its FIR that Johar and Rana were actually Pakistani citizens who had come to India to eliminate VIPs of the state.

The CBI, which is probing the case, has been able to get detailed information about Ishrat and Javed as it included the statements of their relatives and people known to them in the charge sheet filed on July 3.

It has so far not been able to reach any conclusive point on the identity of Johar and Rana. CBI has in its charge sheet neither given any details about the antecedents of the duo nor the motive of their presence in Gujarat.