Was Ishrat a terrorist? CBI, IB await NIA replyIB Claims Headley Marked Ishrat As An UltraNeeraj Chauhan & Deeptiman Tiwary TNNNew Delhi: On the back foot with CBI claiming to have enough evidence against its officer in the Ishrat Jahan “fake encounter” case, Intelligence Bureau (IB) has recently written to the agency claiming that Pakistani-American jihadi DavidColeman Headley’stestimony established Ishrat as a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT)terrorist. IB said that according to information received by from the US’FBI, Headley’s interrogation confirmed Ishrat’s affiliation as a member of LeT. According to the letter, 26/11 mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi – under detention in Pakistan – had told Headley that top jihadi Muzammil Bhat had claimed to have recruited a female suicide bomber named Ishrat Jahan and had plans to attack several religious places in Gujarat. Sourcesin thehome ministry supportedIB’sclaim. To verify the IB’s claim CBI has approachedtheNationalInvestigation Agency (NIA), which interrogated Headley in the US. It has, however, not received any cooperation from NIA,saysCBI. “We are yetto get any reply from NIA in this regard,” said a top official. NIA claims it has not received any communication from the CBI on Headley. A senior NIAofficialsaid, “Noletter or official communication has been sent to us. Even if it is, there are legal complications and the statement of Headley cannotbeshared.” CBI officials see this as a roadblock in their probe against IB special director Rajinder Kumar, who has been summoned for questioning as an accused in the alleged fake encounter. Interestingly,IB’sclaims are not part of NIA’s interrogation reporton Headley.In April2011, theGujaratHChadsoughtclarification from NIA on media reports and in its submission before the court through a letter, NIAsaid, “(assertions) made regarding Headley making statement on Ishrat is purely in the nature of hearsay, it does not have any evidentiary value”. CBI sources, however, say these details are inconsequential to its investigation. “Focus of the agency's probe has never been theintelligenceinputwhichled to the controversial encounter. We are probing whether intelligence officers were active participants in the conspiracy which led to the killing of 19-year-old Ishrat Jahan in the incident,” said a senior CBI official. CBI counting on Guj cops’ testimony New Delhi: A statement of senior Gujarat cops before a magistrate naming IB special director Rajinder Kumar in the Ishrat Jahan “fake encounter” case is a crucial evidence that the CBI has against the official. The statement under section 164 CrPC naming Kumar has been filed by a few Gujarat cops, who were part of the crime branch during the encounter in 2004, and are now witnesses against the official. CBI is likely to arrest Kumar soon. TNN |
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Monday, June 24, 2013
Was Ishrat a terrorist? CBI, IB await NIA reply
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