In a bid to gather some more evidence to prove the involvement of BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, the CBI is revisiting those witnesses who had recorded their statements about three years back naming Kataria and marble trader Vimal Patani.
It is learnt that CBI sleuths, who are investigating the case, are in touch with these witnesses and would soon visit Jaipur, Udaipur, Bhilwara and Rajsamand to elicit more information from them.
Some of them are clandestinely in touch with Mohammad Azam Khan, presently lodged in Udaipur, to build pressure on him not to retract his statement during trial of the case. Though Udaipur Central Jail authority maintained that the prison was well protected, sources said that often cellphones were recovered from the prisoners in this jail.
Some police officials of the State are surprised why the CBI wants to rely on Khan, who himself is a hardened criminal and was involved in extortion racket in Udaipur and Mumbai. It was Khan who in his statement had said that while in jail, he overheard the SHO and some other police personnel of Hathipole Police Station that Patani had paid `10 crore through Kataria to arrange the killing of Sohrabuddin. Sohrabuddin had demanded `24 crore from Patani and a textile tycoon of Bhilwara as protection money.
Khan was arrested along with three others in the murder of history-sheeter Hamid lala. While Khan was on bail an interesting incident took place . About two and half years back, he filed an FIR with Udaipur police station saying that he shot at by some unknown miscreants and there was danger to his life. As police were doubtful of the incident, it probed the incident. Police revealed that it was a staged-managed incident to get the police protection.
After this incident Khan, once an active member of Sohrabuddin gang, disappeared from Udaipur and made Mumbai his areas of activities. He was trying to remobilise the members of the Sohrabuddin gang.
A few months back, he made calls to some traders in Udaipur, demanding huge protection money. Udaipur police with the help of Mumbai Police nabbed him and brought him back to Udaipur.