Has Geetha Johri quit special investigation team?
The senior IPS officer, who is the convenor of the SC-appointed SIT probing the 2002 post-Godhra riots cases, has submitted her resignation to SIT chief RK Raghavan.
Senior IPS officer Geetha Johri, who is the convenor of the Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2002 post-Godhra riots cases, has submitted her resignation to SIT chief RK Raghavan.“I have sent my resignation to SIT chairman RK Raghavan,” Johri told DNA over phone. “I am tired of the false accusations made against me and my husband and I am tired of giving clarifications for these accusations. Apart from that, the SIT’s investigation, too, is in its final stages. I hope my resignation is accepted.” Johri’s resignation comes in the wake of the apex court’s recent observations on her poor handling of the Sohrabuddin Shaikh fake encounter case.According to reports, she has also written to amicus curiae (friend of the court) Harish Salve expressing her desire to quit the SIT with the Supreme Court’s approval. Salve is assisting the Supreme Court in cases arising out of the state-wide riots in Gujarat in 2002.
Johri, who is currently Rajkot commissioner of police, had investigated the Sohrabuddin case. Sohrabuddin, a gangster, was allegedly killed in a “fake encounter” by the police.
His wife Kausar Bi had also disappeared and is alleged to have been bumped off by the police to destroy evidence. Over 10 police personnel, including two IPS officers of Gujarat and one from Rajasthan, are behind bars in the case. The Supreme Court had, on January 13, handed over the case to the CBI expressing displeasure over the way the case was investigated by the Gujarat police.On Tuesday, during the hearing in the Supreme Court on SIT, solicitor general of India, Gopal Subramaniam, had sought its reconstitution following the apex court’s remarks against Johri. The Supreme Court has accepted Subramaniam’s submission and posted the matter for further hearing on February 9. Earlier, on January 13, while handing over the Sohrabuddin case to the CBI, the Supreme Court bench of justices Tarun Chatterjee and Aftab Alam had remarked that the Gujarat police had not properly investigated the encounter case.“Investigating officer VL Solanki was proceeding in the right direction, but Johri had not been carrying out the investigation in the right manner,” the justices had observed.The apex court had further said that it was of the view that Johri’s mentioning the criminal background of Sohrabuddin was meant to “obfuscate the inquiry”.(With Agencies)