LeT website called Ishrat a martyr: GK Pillai

Source: News Agencies

New  Delhi, November 22: Merely a day after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) told the Gujarat High Court that the Ishrat Jahan encounter was not genuine, former central Home Secretary GK Pillai has made it clear that the Lashkar-e-Toiba website had called her a martyr and the Intelligence Bureau had given inputs against Ishrat.

Pillai while talking to CNN-IBN TV News channel said that from the evidence available, it was clear that Ishrat and others were involved in suspicious activities. "Ishrat used to live with different men in different hotels, which definitely was suspicious. The Intelligence Bureau had given inputs against Ishrat."

He recalled that the Lashkar-e-Toiba website had called her a martyr and later removed it.

He also made it clear that the SIT report was not a comment on whether Ishrat was a terrorist or not. "The SIT only said that from the evidence available, it was found out that the encounter was fake, but there was no word on whether Ishrat and other were alleged terrorists or not," Pillai said.

SIT told to Gujarat High Court on Monday that the Ishrat Jahan encounter was not genuine. After the SIT filed its report, the High Court ordered that a complaint under Indian Penal Code Section 302 (murder) has to be filed against those involved in the fake encounter.

The SIT, headed by IPS officer RR Verma and including two other seniors police officers Mohan Jha and Satish Verma, said that Ishrat along with Javed Sheikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed prior to the date of encounter on June 15, 2004. All three SIT officers came to an unanimous conclusion that the encounter was fake.

The arguments in the case will continue over the issue of who will file an FIR and investigate the case.Those accused in the case include then Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) PP Pande, suspended Deputy Inspector General DG Vanzara, then Assistant Commissioner of Police GL Singhal and Assistant Commissioner of Police NK Amin - all IPS officers.

There were total of 21 policemen, including the IPS officers, involved in the fake encounter.

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