New Delhi : The controversy and debate surrounding the June 15, 2004 Ishrat Jahan encounter case took another fresh twist on Wednesday, when a former bureaucrat who was attached with the union home ministry, also questioned the need for a second affidavit.
Former joint secretary in the home ministry A.K. Jain said that there was no reason to doubt the inputs provided by the Gujarat Government and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) in relation to the case.
In an exclusive to ANI, Jain who was the Joint Secretary (JS) in charge of monitoring communal-related matters across the country, said, “I was JS in charge of the communal situation, and had obtained reports from the IB and the state government. The reports were clear that outfits to which Ishrat belonged to, had an association with terror groups.”
He further said there was no conflict between the state government and the IB in their reports. “There was no reason to doubt their inputs.”
However, he claimed that there was a considerable amount of distrust between the central government and Gujarat government at the time.
He revealed that a commission of inquiry was proposed by the central government on the post-Godhra situation.
“References also came from the National Advisory Council (NAC) to tweak the report of the commission, which I did not support,” he alleged.
He reiterated that no questions were raised on the IB reports when he was with the home ministry. (ANI)