New Delhi, July 31: In a startling revelation, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) witness Azam Khan has revealed that RK Marbles paid Rs 10 crore to former Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria to get Sohrabuddin Sheikh killed, according to a Media report. Kataria was the home minister when the
Sohrabuddin was allegedly killed in an encounter in a joint operation of the Rajasthan and Gujarat police.
Azam Khan was the cell mate of Tulsiram Prajapati, the witness in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter.
Sohrabuddin Sheikh, Kauserbi and Tulsiram Prajapati, were picked up by a joint team of Gujarat and Rajasthan police in Andhra Pradesh on November 23, 2005.
On November 26, Sheikh was killed in a staged encounter, while Kauserbi was eliminated a few days later.
Prajapati was kept in illegal confinement by Rajasthan police for five days after Sohrabuddin was killed. But the police announced his arrest from Bhilwara on May 2, 2006. He was killed in December.
Khan revealed that both Gujarat police and Rajasthan police were involved in the killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh.
The roles of the owners of RK Marble and textile company Sangam Group are being investigated by the CBI.
Earlier in October-November 2004, as Sohrabuddin had allegedly tried to extort from the two Rajasthan companies, they approached a politician and a police officer to get protection. “The role of these two and other marble traders need to be probed in detail and, therefore, further probe is required,” the charge-sheet said.
The agency also refers to the rivalry between Sohrabuddin and Hamid Lala, an Udaipur-based gangster. Since Sohrabuddin and Prajapati allegedly had a role in Lala’s murder on December 31, 2004, members of the Lala gang wanted to take revenge on Sohrabuddin.
The CBI also said it has so far examined 278 witnesses of which 62 are from Rajasthan. The CBI team has visited Rajasthan several times in the last few months after taking over investigations this year.
——Agencies