Ahmedabad, December 31: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the 2004 police encounter of Mumbai girl Ishrat Jahan and three others has filed an application in the Gujarat High Court seeking appointment of an amicus curie in the case.
SIT chief Karnail Singh filed the plea yesterday. In the application, Singh has said they needed a legal expert to help them during the investigation and also assist in various court proceedings.
Since the SIT was appointed by the High Court, the team has requested it to provide them with an amicus curie (friend of the court).
The SIT lead by Singh, a 1984-batch IPS officerfrom Delhi, also comprises Mohan Jha and Satish Verma, IPS officers of Gujarat cadre. It has already started the probe.
Ishrat (19), a college girl, was killed along with Javed Ghulam Sheikh alias Pranesh Kumar Pillai, Amjad Ali alias Rajkumar Akbar Ali Rana and Jisan Johar Abdul Gani in an encounter with the Crime Branch near here on June 15, 2004.
As part of the inquiry, the SIT sought permission from the CBI Court for questioning police officers D G Vanzara and N K Amin, both accused in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case and currently lodged in jail. The two were attached to Ahmedabad Crime Branch at the time of the incident.
–PTI