Nayamuddin was frightened: Rubabuddin Shaikh

Sohrabuddin's brother, Rubabuddin, has alleged that his brother, Nayamuddin, was pressurised to retract the statement he had given to the CBI in February, and that he had retracted part of his statement out of fear. Rubabuddin's lawyer on Tuesday submitted his written statement to the CBI objecting to former minister Amit Shah's plea for bail.

Rubabuddin has alleged that Shah was interfering directly and influencing witnesses in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case. The former minister was coercing witnesses to retract their statements, so as to make the evidence submitted by the CBI appear unreliable, Rubabuddin has alleged. He has further stated that if Shah can influence witnesses even from jail, then he would be able to destroy the evidence or influence witnesses even more if he is released on bail.

Earlier, Rubabuddin had asked the court to allow him to be a party in the hearing on Shah's bail plea and hear his objections to the bail application. However, the special CBI sessions judge had rejected his petition, but had suggested that Rubabuddin could file his objections through a written statement submitted to the prosecution. The judge had also allowed him to assist the prosecution. It was in response to the special CBI sessions judge's order that Rubabuddin, on Tuesday, submitted his written statement to the CBI.

The Special CBI sessions court will hear Shah's petition for bail today. Shah's lawyer Ram Jethmalani will complete his argument after which the CBI counsel, KTS Tulsi, will argue against the bail plea on behalf of the probe agency.