Sohrabuddin encounter case: IPS officer RK Pandian discharged on technical ground

The special CBI court in Mumbai on Thursday discharged IPS officer Raj Kumar Pandian from Sohrabuddin Shaikh fake encounter case. The CBI court came to the conclusion after a technical ground that sanction was not taken to prosecute him was pointed by defence.

Gangster Sohrabuddin and his wife kausar Bi were killed in an encounter by Gujarat Police on November 26, 2005. According to the chargesheet that was filed by CBI in the case, Pandian was part of the team of Gujarat Police led by D G Vanzara that had picked up Sohrabuddin and his wife, and had staged the encounter near Ahmedabad.

CHARGES AGAINST PANDIAN

According to the CBI chargesheetm Pandian had played crucial role during each stage of the execution. He was also accused of eliminating Tulsi Prajapati, who was the eyewitness in the Sohrabuddin encounter case. These two cases were, however, clubbed together.

Pandian spent seven years in jail and had been granted bail with travel restrictions to Gujarat against which he had even gone to Supreme Court saying that he had an ailing mother to attend to.

PANDIAN, 12TH ACCUSED TO BE ACQUITTED

Pandian was reinstated by Gujarat Police in 2014 and rehabilitated as Liasioning Officer at the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation.

CBI had filed a chargesheet against 37 accused in the case including BJP chief Amit Shah, who was the first accused to be acquitted from the case in December 2014. Pandian became the 12th accused in the case to be discharged.
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