Former Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday stood by an affidavit filed by the United Progressive Alliance government on the Ishrat Jahan case in 2009 and said it was “absolutely correct”. Former Home Secretary GK Pillai had claimed that Chidambaram sent back the affidavit to remove references to Lashkar-e-Taiba, in addition to making other changes to it. Pillai’s revelation that the former Congress government was aware of Jahan’s links to the LeT have caused a row between the Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, which came under attack for her death in 2004 in an alleged fake encounter in BJP-ruled Gujarat.
However, Pillai’s remarks on their deaths being the result of an Intelligence Bureau operation are likely to result in further investigation into the matter. The Indian Express reported that Chidambaram on Monday had said it was his duty to “correct the first affidavit”, which he said was ambiguous. A supplementary affidavit was filed after consulting with Pillai, the Intelligence Bureau chief, and other top security officials.
When earlier asked if Chidambaram had discussed dropping references to the LeT from the affidavit, Pillai said, “No, it was done suo motu by the minister”.
A senior official told The Indian Express that the files on Ishrat Jahan will be examined once again given that new information has been revealed, and some of the files are still being located. Jahan's death in an alleged fake encounter was brought to light once more, after Pakistani-American LeT member convicted of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, David Headley, testified to a Mumbai court that she was a member of the terror group.
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