Amit Shah seeks more time to face CBI
India Blooms News Service
Ahmedabad, July 23 (IBNS): Gujarat Home minister Amit Shah, who on Thursday did not turn up before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which summoned him for questioning in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, sent a legal team to the federal investigating agency on Friday, saying he needs more time to appear before them.
Reports said Shah asked for more time to appear before the CBI, though earlier he issued a statement saying that he was not running away from law and was served the previous summon at a very short notice.
Shah sent his legal team to the CBI office in Gandhinagar.
"We have asked for a questionnaire from the CBI," said Shah's lawyer.
The close aide of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had hinted earlier that he would be present on Friday.
Shah has termed the charges against him as "baseless and mindless".
“Due to some pressing personal reasons, I was out of the headquarters today [Thursday] and it was during this time that the CBI served a summons at my residence,” he said in a statement earlier, informing that he would be present before CBI on Friday.
“By the time I got the message it was way beyond the 1 pm deadline set by the CBI. It's surprising that an agency like the CBI behaved like this with the state government ministers. It's not just surprising, but also suspicious,” he said in a statement.
The CBI has has issued a second summon to the minister on Thursday after his no show, asking him to appear before it by 1 p.m. on Friday.
It is for the first time that a state minister has been called for questioning the fake encounter case on 2005, which has already landed some IPS officers in jail.
Sohrabuddin was killed in an alleged fake encounter in November 2005. Although police said he was a terrorist and planned to kill Narendra Modi, investigations have revealed that the encounter was fake.
His statement said: “The Sohrabuddin case has gone through various procedures of law. Even a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has investigated the case and never ever did my name crop up either in the capacity of the minister of state or individually.
“Despite that the Congress led government in order to carry out a 'political encounter' got my name dragged into the controversy.”
He said the courts will decide whether the encounter was fake or not, “but I as an individual have always respected the constitution and the rule of law”.
“The baseless mindless allegations against me and the BJP government are being spread at the behest of the Congress government in power,” he said.
Earlier on Thursday, Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari said in New Delhi, “There should not be any politics on the issue, but justice should be done.”
He said ever since the BJP government took office in Gujarat , especially after Narendra Modi became chief minister, there have been various such instances.
“All we are interested is that justice is done and law should be above everyone, however high the person is,” he said.
The BJP, defending the home minister, said the CBI is prejudiced against opposition politicians.
“The Congress manipulates the CBI,” said BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad.
Three senior police officers from Gujarat and one from Rajasthan have already been arrested for their involvement in the case.
Telephone records have shown that Shah was in regular touch with these officers, reports said quoting CBI sources.
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