The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea that asked for charges against the Gujarat Police be dropped in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case. The Public Interest Litigation sought to quash the criminal cases against the police after Mumbai 2008 terror attacks accused-turned approver David Headley said she was a Lashkar-e-Taiba operative. The plea claimed Jahan was plotting to kill then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The Central Bureau had filed a chargesheet and a supplementary chargesheet claiming Jahan was an innocent student, a stand that was backed strongly by the Congress government that was in power at the Centre at the time. The Gujarat Police personnel involved in the killing were then charged with carrying out a fake encounter.
Since Headley’s revelation, former home secretary GK Pillai has claimed that ex-home minister P Chidambaram had made changes in the original affidavit on the case to remove evidence of Jahan’s links with the LeT. Chidambaram, however, has stood by his actions, saying the changes were necessary.
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