In a shocking revelation, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday sought to describe the “actual misuse of central agencies”. During a conversation with News18, Shah said that he was falsely accused in the 2005 Sohrabuddin encounter case. He also said that he was under constant pressure from the CBI to name the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, as an accused in the case.
He said, “I have been a victim of CBI’s misuse. The Congress did not make any allegation of corruption. When I was the Home Minister of Gujarat, they made an allegation and arrested me in an encounter case.” He said, ‘Where are you getting upset, take Modi’s name, will leave you’ [Why are you troubling yourself and us? Give us Modi’s name and you will be let go]Shah said.
“We did not wear black clothes then, nor did we disrupt the functioning of Parliament,” he said.
The Sohrabuddin encounter case refers to the killing of Sohrabuddin Shaikh and his wife Kausar Bi, a criminal and alleged terrorist, by the Gujarat Police in 2005. The encounter was officially declared as the result of self-defense, but it was later alleged that it was a staged encounter.
At the time of the encounter, Amit Shah was the Minister of State for Home in the Government of Gujarat. He was accused of being involved in the conspiracy behind the fake encounter and was arrested in 2010. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) claimed that Shah was involved in the conspiracy to eliminate Shohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bi, as well as the subsequent cover-up of the crime. Shah was charged with criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, murder and destruction of evidence.
Shah denied all allegations against him and claimed that he was being falsely implicated in the case due to political vendetta. He was released on bail in 2010, and the case was transferred from Gujarat to Mumbai by the Supreme Court to ensure a fair trial. In December 2014, the CBI court acquitted Shah from the case citing lack of evidence against him.
Shah told News18 on Wednesday, “On the 90th day, I was granted bail as the High Court said there was not enough evidence against me. My case was in Mumbai where the court found that the CBI registered the case against me due to political pressures.” And thus dismissed all the charges against me. “Then, all these people were there – Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, P Chidambaram. Today we are not accusing them in false cases. We have registered cases on the basis of their rampant corruption.” Shah said.
Referring to AAP leaders Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia, the Union Home Minister said, “These people have been in jail for so long. If they are innocent, they should trust the law. If they are found not guilty, they should be acquitted.” will be done.” He told the news channel.
