KVS Mani lying, wants to weaken Ishrat Jahan case: former SIT chief Satish Verma

IPS officer Satish Verma, who assisted the CBI probe into the alleged Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, on Thursday trashed the allegations levelled against by former under secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as 'wrong and baseless' and accused him of attempting to weaken the case in the prevailing atmosphere that has been created by some vested interests. 

Verma, who headed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Ishrat case, told ANI in an exclusive conversation that their purpose is to divert the attention from several CBI chargesheets pending in various CBI courts so as to diminish the authenticity of the chargesheets and also to declare that evidences produced in the support of the chargesheets wrong.

Countering Mani's claim that he was pressurised and tortured, Verma said, "There is no evidence to support the charges. Second thing, when police records the statements of witnesses, they don't take their signature. Mr. Mani was also a witness and thus there was no question of pressurising him to put his signature."

"Further, Mr. Mani has spoken about physical torture by cigarette...; I must say the CBI never tortures anybody in such a way in any of their investigations. Suppose, I had done what Mr. Mani was claiming?  it would be a big misconduct and perhaps it would be a crime under law. He was an officer of the Government of India, he must be aware of the fact that he could take legal action against me (for misconduct). Also, the highest investigating agency like the CBI, which doesn't tolerate such misconducts, would also have taken some action. Hence, the charges are baseless," he added.

The senior IPS officer further said they are making personal attacks on those who have played a notable role in the CBI inquiry because they could not adopt any other means.

Tearing into Mani's claim that he had not filed the second affidavit, Verma said it is wrong.  "He had filed two affidavits in 2009. But, those affidavits have no impact on the result of the investigation. Why had he changed the affidavit, he knew it, because he had done it. Now, he is saying that there were political reasons for it. As far as I know, in his first affidavit, he has written more than necessary things, and if the things were changed in the second affidavit, I believe those changes were right because in the first affidavit so many things were written in a way as if he was an investigating officer," said Verma.

"On the contrary, the role of the Government of India was limited to passing on intelligence inputs, which was said officially at that time. The Centre's affidavit, which was prepared by Mr. Mani, should also have only those things (inputs), but he had supported the entire details of investigation, which was not his job," he added.

However, it has come out to the fore of late that only passing on intelligence was not their job, said Verma, adding that the Intelligence Bureau was deeply involved in this case.

"The IB officials had kept them under unlawful custody, and thereafter, they were murdered executing a premeditated plan. That is why Mr. Mani had written all the details in the affidavit to prove/justify that the encounter was right, which were actually told by the IB," said Verma.

"Mr. Mani, however, submitted all these before us (CBI), but later found that he should have not told all those things to the CBI, and then he started levelling allegations against me," he added.

Rajendra Kumar, who is an IB officer and an accused in the case, is taking support of David Hadley's statement, claimed Verma, adding it is also an irony that a senior IB officer like the former is taking the help from an attributed terrorist, and many people, including former home secretary, are coming out in his support.

"But, their statements won't make any impact, and the facts and evidences should be such that they could prove that Ishrat's movement, activities and training were of a terrorist. And, in the CBI's investigation, no such evidences were placed us," he concluded. 

Mani had claimed that he was hauled up and harassed in 2013. He said he was tortured by CBI officer Satish Verma. He alleged that the CBI tried to make him say that he drafted the first affidavit under pressure from the Intelligence Bureau.