A special CBI court in Mumbai, on Friday, 21 December, acquitted all 22 accused in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh-Tulsiram Prajapati alleged fake encounter case, observing that there was not “enough evidence” to prove conspiracy.
"I am helpless," said Special CBI Judge SJ Sharma while referring to the proof not being satisfactory.
Speaking to the media after the acquittal of the accused, Sohrabuddin's brother Rubabuddin said the judge and the CBI are "corrupt", adding that he'll approach the High Court and the Supreme Court now.
- The case had 22 persons on trial, most of them police officers
- The prosecution examined 210 witnesses, of which 92 turned hostile
- The alleged fake encounters of gangsters Sohrabuddin and Prajapati kicked off a major political conspiracy
After appeals from various quarters, the politically-sensitive trial had been shifted from Gujarat to Mumbai by the Supreme Court in September 2012.
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'Judge, CBI are Corrupt': Sohrabuddin’s Brother Rubabuddin
Speaking to the media after a special CBI court in Mumbai acquitted all 22 accused in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh-Tulsiram Prajapati alleged fake encounter case, Sohrabuddin's brother Rubabuddin said the judge, SJ Sharma, and the CBI are corrupt.
”(Judge) SJ Sharma, CBI are corrupt... They’ve saved everyone. We’ll go to the High Court and the Supreme Court... They’ve not called Rajnish Rai, Raman Patel, Dashrath Patel, Narmada Bai (witnesses). If they’d called them, then everyone would have been punished.”Sohrabuddin Sheikh’s brother Rubabuddin
Sohrabuddin Would Have Killed Then Guj CM Modi: Senior Cop
The main accused in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case and retired Inspector General of Police DG Vanzara maintained that he and his team’s stand of killing Sheikh has been vindicated.
“If Sohrabbudin was not killed then by the Gujarat ATS, then he would have killed then (2005) Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi,” said Vanzara, reported Hindustan Times.
Happy With Verdict: Gujarat Deputy CM Nitin Patel
Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said he was “happy with the verdict.”
“All allegations against our police and the government have been proved wrong today,” Nitin Patel told News18.