The Union Home Ministry on Thursday sought to play the mediator in view of the ongoing face-off between the Intelligence Bureau and the CBI. Union Home Secretary RK Singh chaired a meeting with the chiefs of IB and CBI to discuss the issue.
For his part, IB Special Director Rajendra Kumar has expressed his inability to appear before it on Friday for questioning in the alleged fake Ishrat Jahan encounter case citing illness of his father. Kumar has told the CBI that he would not be available before Tuesday.
In the backdrop of heavy resentment in the IB over the controversial summons to the senior official by the CBI, the intelligence officials said the investigating body’s move could be motivated. CBI Director Ranjit Sinha’s name was dropped from the panel earlier for appointment as the chief of the investigating body following an adverse IB report against him.
Senior IB officials are of the view that Prime Minister should intervene in the matter owing to resentment and demoralisation that will set in among the sources.
The meeting chaired by RK Singh also saw a surprise presence of former CBI chief AP Singh, who is at present member Union Public Service Commission, official sources said.
During the meeting, IB Director Syed Asif Ibrahim is learnt to have pressed for the need to maintain confidentiality in the ongoing probe to which Sinha agreed.
Sinha said CBI had enough evidence to back the summons issued to Kumar, a 1979-batch IPS officer, seeking to examine him again. CBI had questioned Kumar on May 31.
CBI had issued summons to Kumar as an accused under the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure as the previous examination could not yield much in terms of evidence. The CBI may arrest Kumar if he does not cooperate with the probe.
CBI plans to file charge sheet soon in connection with the fake encounter case
being monitored by the Gujarat High Court. Kumar’s statement could be crucial as he had issued an alert in 2004 saying there was a threat to top BJP leaders from lashkar operatives, including Ishrat Jahan.
During his questioning on May 31, Kumar had told the sleuths that the input was genuine and there was threat to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s life in the aftermath of 2002 riots from the terror groups, especially leT.
Ishrat along with Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004 allegedly by a Crime Branch team led by the then DIG DG Vanzara.