A Mumbai magistrate on Friday rejected a Gujarat government plea seeking transfer of the nine accused in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh fake encounter case to a jail in the neighbouring state, as they faced danger to their lives from the banned Students' Islamic Movement of India.
The Gujarat government application also included an Intelligence Bureau report that the accused had a life threat from SIMI.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate A A Khan, however, asked the Superintendent of Arthur Road Central Jail to inform on existing prison security so that it could decide on shifting accused elsewhere if needed.
The court asked the Arthur jail superintendent to be present before it on November 26 when he has been asked to give his report on security arrangements in his prison.
Seventeen of the 19 accused appeared before court on Thursday and two of them did not appear, as they are undergoing treatment in a Gujarat hospital. All of them were remanded to judicial custody till December 7.
The accused in custody have been temporarily shifted to the Taloja jail, near Mumbai, according to lawyer Rizwan Merchant.
On the last occasion, eight accused, including former Gujarat minister Amit Shah had appeared before the court, while the CBI had sought fresh production warrants against the remaining 11 accused, including former IPS officers D G
Vanjara, Rajkumar Pandian and Abhay Chudasama, who are lodged in Ahmedabad's Sabarmati jail.
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