Ishrat Jahan encounter case disposed of without trial after case against last two IB officers dropped

Agencies
April 20, 2021

The 2004 Ishrat Jahan encounter case on Monday was closed for good, with a metropolitan court allowing applications of two accused Intelligence Bureau (IB) officers including former special director Rajinder Kumar challenging issuance of summons against them.

The court had issued summons against them for taking cognisance of the charge sheet filed against them. 

The duo challenged the summons on the ground that since the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), their cadre-controlling authority, denied sanction to prosecute them, the summons were illegal.

The metropolitan court while allowing their pleas ordered that case was being disposed of.

"The court allowed the applications of the two remaining accused and ordered that the case was being disposed of," special public prosecutor, CBI, R C Kodekar said.

With the relief to two officers, the case of Ishrat Jahan encounter stands closed as all accused including seven Gujarat policemen, one of the them died last year, and two other IB officers, getting dropped from the case. The seven policemen included former Director General of Polce P P Pandey, who was discharged, while cases against ex IPS officer D G Vanzara, ex Superintendent of Police N K Amin, Inspector General of Police G L Singhal, ex Deputy Superintendent of Police Tarun Barot and SRP commando Anaju Chaudhary were dropped for want of government sanction. The seventh accused J G Parmar passed away last year. The CBI has told the court in writing that it accepted all orders and won't challenge them.

The Gujarat high court monitored CBI investigation had found that 19 years old Ishrat Jahan, her friend Pranesh Pillai alias Javed Sheikh and two alleged Pakistani nationals- Amjadali Rani and Zeeshan Johar in the killed in fake encounter in a joint operation of Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch and officials of Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau which was then headed by Rajinder Kumar. However, the sessions court while deciding applications seeking dropping of the case for want of sanction that "there was not enough evidence that they were not terrorists and "there is no question of any fake encounter on the part of any such police officers."

Apart from Kumar, his three juniors- Rajiv Wankhede, T Mittal and Mukul Sinha were also involved in the operation. Kumar along with Gujarat policemen were accused of conspiracy, murder, abduction, illegal confinement and sections of arms acts while the three IB officials, who were then Assistant Central Intelligence Officers (ACIO), were chargesheeted for conspiracy, abduction and illegal confinement.

The case was dropped against all the accused persons from state police and IB on the ground that government refused to grant sanction under section 197 of code of criminal procedure (CrPC) to prosecute them. The section mandates prior approval of government before prosecuting government servants. Only former DGP PP Pandey was discharged on merit of the case and want of sanction.  

The CBI had filed the chargesheet against the four IB officers in February 2014 before the metropolitan court and since then it remained pending for cognizance. In 2015, MHA denied sanction to CBI for prosecuting them. The chargesheet was never committed to trial (sessions) court, as the law prescribes, and remained with the metropolitan court. The court had summoned two other accused IB officers who challenged them and was quashed by a sessions court.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 24,2025

israelsyra.jpg

Israeli forces have pushed over the Syrian frontier, erecting a checkpoint and stopping vehicles in the southwestern city of Quneitra, in yet another breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

The violation took place on Sunday, when the troops made their way across the border, setting up the outpost near the Ain al-Bayda junction in northern Quneitra, Syrian outlets reported.

According to the al-Ikhbariya paper, an Israeli detachment positioned itself at the junction, halting cars and conducting searches.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that three Israeli military vehicles then moved further into the northern countryside, deploying between the town of Jubata al-Khashab and the villages of Ofaniya and Ain al-Bayda. The agency added that a separate Israeli unit mounted a new incursion in the central region, approaching the villages of Umm Batina and al-Ajraf.

Residents said such activities have surged in recent months, pointing to Israeli advances onto farmland, leveling of extensive forested areas, arrests, and spread of mobile checkpoints.

The Israeli regime began markedly increasing its military aggression against Syria last year.

The escalation coincided with increasingly ferocious onslaughts throughout the country by the so-called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, which the government of President Bashar al-Assad had confined to northwestern Syria. The HTS, however, managed to overthrow the government as the Israeli attacks would pummel the country’s civilian and defensive infrastructure.

Various reports have shown that, during the escalation, the regime conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on the Syrian territory and over 400 ground raids into the south.

Following the collapse of the Assad government, Tel Aviv also widened its grip over the occupied Golan Heights by taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone, in defiance of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Earlier this month, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the buffer zone, prompting expressions of alarm on the part of the United Nations.

The United States, the regime’s biggest ally, has, meanwhile, been fraternizing the HTS head Abu Mohammed al-Jolani amid the widely reported prospect of rapprochement with Tel Aviv.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
November 30,2025

girlnomore.jpg

Mangaluru, Nov 30: A 22-year-old college student succumbed to her injuries at a private hospital in Mangaluru today, days after she was hit by a goods tempo while crossing a road in Padubidri.

The deceased has been identified as Preksha, a resident of Nadsalu Billitota in Padubidri. The fatal incident occurred as Preksha, who was returning home after completing her examination, attempted to cross the service road towards Mangaluru. She was struck by a goods tempo approaching from the Udupi side, causing her to fall and sustain a severe head injury.

Prompt action from local residents ensured she received immediate first aid before being rushed to a hospital in Mangaluru for specialised treatment. Despite medical efforts, she passed away while undergoing care.

Preksha was a student at Karavali College, Vamanjoor on the outskirts of Mangaluru city. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that she belonged to a financially vulnerable family, having previously lost her father. She is survived by her mother and brother.

A case related to the accident has been registered at the Padubidri police station, and an investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances that led to the collision. The incident highlights the growing concerns over road safety, particularly on busy service roads, and serves as a tragic reminder of the human cost of traffic accidents.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.