Sohrabuddin Sheikh case: All 22 accused acquitted by Special CBI Court due to lack of evidence

The Special CBI court in Mumbai on Friday acquitted all 22 accused in the alleged fake encounter killings of gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi and aide Tulsi Prajapati.

Acquitting the accused, the court also observed that circumstantial evidence is not substantial.

"All the witnesses and proofs are not satisfactory to prove conspiracy and murder in connection with the alleged fake encounters of Shaikh," the court observed.

Stating that the allegation that Tulsiram Prajapati was murdered through a conspiracy is not true, the court said, "The government machinery and prosecution put in a lot of effort. 210 witnesses were brought but satisfactory evidence didn't come and witnesses turned hostile,"

"No fault of the prosecutor if witnesses don't speak," the court added.

Of the accused, 21 are junior-level police officials from Gujarat and Rajasthan. The other was the owner of a farm house in Gujarat where Shaikh and Kausar Bi were illegally detained before they were allegedly killed.

A court in Mumbai had last October framed charges against 22 people including police officers for murder, abduction and destruction of evidence in connection with the alleged fake encounter of Shaikh near Gandhinagar in Gujarat on November 26, 2005.

Shaikh, an alleged gangster with terror links, and his wife Kausar Bi were allegedly abducted by the Gujarat Police's Anti-Terrorism Squad from Hyderabad on their way to Sangli in Maharashtra in November 2005.

According to the prosecution, Shaikh was killed in a staged encounter. Kausar Bi, who disappeared, was also allegedly killed later.

Prajapati was allegedly killed by police at Chapri village in Gujarat's Banaskantha district in December 2006.

(With agency inputs)