Sohrab case: Jailed accused to miss Mumbai court day

The Sabarmati jail authorities Thursday said they could not send the accused of the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter killing case to Mumbai where they have been summoned by a local court on Friday.

"We received the summons Wednesday evening and by the time we arranged the escorts and did other paperwork, it was so late in the night that it was not advisable to transfer them to Mumbai," Jail Superintendent R M Parghi told PTI.

The Supreme Court had on September 27 ordered the transfer of the case to Maharashtra after CBI said witnesses were being intimidated and a free and fair trial was not possible in Gujarat.

Of the total 18 accused, nine are in Sabarmati jail, including suspended IPS officers D G Vanzara, Dinesh M N and Rajkumar Pandian.

On Thursday, the jail authorities arranged an escort team of a DCP and an ACP, four police inspectors, six police sub inspectors and 20 chetak black cat commandos and 20 police constables from Special Operation Group and Crime Branch.

A Mumbai court had on November 6 issued summons to all the 18 accused, including former Gujarat minister Amit Shah.

After their appearance, the case would be committed to the special CBI court in Mumbai.

Sheikh and his wife Kauser Bi were allegedly abducted by Gujarat's Anti-Terrorism Squad from Andhra Pradesh. Sheikh was killed in a fake encounter on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on November 26, 2005.