The Gujarat Government has revoked the suspension of one of the accused in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, IPS officer Rajkumar Pandian, following the approval of his bail application earlier this year by the apex court.
Considering the fact that Pandian was granted bail on the condition that he would not enter Gujarat, he was reinstated on Thursday as a liaison officer of the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) in Mumbai.
Pandian and other accused cops in the case — Abhay Chudasama, Rajasthan cadre IPS Dinesh MN and others —were sent to Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai after the Supreme Court transferred the case from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. Another senior cop DG Vanzara, who has been accused in the Isharat Jahan fake encounter case also, has been brought back from Navi Mumbai jail to Sabarmati jail in Ahmedabad.
Besides, seasoned politician, former Minister of State for Home in Modi Government in Gujarat and now BJP president Amit Shah is also accused in the case and is out on bail.
The Gujarat Government had also reinstated Abhay Chudasama, who was in jail for the same Soharabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case before he was released on bail a couple of months ago.
In another development, inspector Balkrishna Chaubey, another accused in the fake encounter case, was reinstated in the Mumbai Police force. However, Chaubey has not been given any posting. Pandian and Chaubey were arrested in 2007 by Gujarat cadre IPS officer Rajnish Rai. Both of them were sent to Sabarmati jail in Ahmedabad and then shifted to Navi Mumbai.
Pandian was also accused in the 2007 encounter of Tulsiram Prajapati, the sole eyewitness to Sohrabuddin’s killing. As per apex court’s order both the cases have been clubbed. Another accused in the Prajapati encounter, inspector Anish Pandya is also out on bail, but he has not been reinstated yet.
Pandian was part of the team of Gujarat ATS, led by DG Vanzara, which allegedly picked up Sohrabuddin and his wife Kauser Bi from Hyderabad and killed them in a staged encounter near Vishala circle on the outskirts of Ahmedabad in November 2005.
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