The special CBI court on
Thursday sent former journalist from Mumbai, Ketan Tirodkar, to the
Sabarmati central jail in connection with the Sadiq Jamal Mehtar encounter
case after his custodial interrogation was over.
Clad in white shirt and lungi, Tirodkar requested the court to keep him secluded in the prison expressing apprehension from Vanzara & Co, though without naming them. During the proceeding, he told the court, “There are high level officials of the Gujarat government involved in this case. Therefore directions may be issued to authorities to keep me secluded for security purpose.”
However, the magistrate asked him to raise the issue before the jail superintendent.
After the CBI did not seek further remand of Tirodkar and maintained again that he was not co-operating in the investigations, the scribe raised objection to the probe agency's contention. He said, “This case was opened because of my disclosure only. There is no reason that I should not cooperate in the probe. If they feel that I am not co-operating, they should be seeking further remand and I am ready to go again for custodial interrogation.” The CBI officials did not have any answer to this and they remained quiet.
When the magistrate ordered to send Tirodkar to judicial custody till July 25, he raised objection again saying, “It was with my disclosure that investigation was ordered in this case. I was in judicial custody for three years in this case only in Mumbai after I filed affidavit, though there was no specific FIR or complaint filed in this case.” He expressed surprise on being sent to jail twice in a single case. But the CBI officials told the court that his affidavit before the MCOCA court in Mumbai and the encounter probe are two separate matters.
The magistrate asked Tirodkar if he wanted to have legal aid for the purpose of filing bail plea, but he refused and reiterated, “I will not hire lawyer. I will argue my case as party-in-person because this is an old case and so complicated that I would like to argue myself only.”
Tirodkar in his affidavit revealed how he handed over the Bhavnagar youth in 2002 end to Mumbai's encounter specialist Daya Nayak. He claimed that he introduced Sadiq to Nayak because he wanted to get rid of a criminal case lodged in Bhavnagar against him. Later in his affidavit, Tirodkar claimed that he was a witness to the transfer of Sadiq's custody to the Gujarat police by Nayak a few days before the encounter, which took place on January 13, 2003.
Clad in white shirt and lungi, Tirodkar requested the court to keep him secluded in the prison expressing apprehension from Vanzara & Co, though without naming them. During the proceeding, he told the court, “There are high level officials of the Gujarat government involved in this case. Therefore directions may be issued to authorities to keep me secluded for security purpose.”
However, the magistrate asked him to raise the issue before the jail superintendent.
After the CBI did not seek further remand of Tirodkar and maintained again that he was not co-operating in the investigations, the scribe raised objection to the probe agency's contention. He said, “This case was opened because of my disclosure only. There is no reason that I should not cooperate in the probe. If they feel that I am not co-operating, they should be seeking further remand and I am ready to go again for custodial interrogation.” The CBI officials did not have any answer to this and they remained quiet.
When the magistrate ordered to send Tirodkar to judicial custody till July 25, he raised objection again saying, “It was with my disclosure that investigation was ordered in this case. I was in judicial custody for three years in this case only in Mumbai after I filed affidavit, though there was no specific FIR or complaint filed in this case.” He expressed surprise on being sent to jail twice in a single case. But the CBI officials told the court that his affidavit before the MCOCA court in Mumbai and the encounter probe are two separate matters.
The magistrate asked Tirodkar if he wanted to have legal aid for the purpose of filing bail plea, but he refused and reiterated, “I will not hire lawyer. I will argue my case as party-in-person because this is an old case and so complicated that I would like to argue myself only.”
Tirodkar in his affidavit revealed how he handed over the Bhavnagar youth in 2002 end to Mumbai's encounter specialist Daya Nayak. He claimed that he introduced Sadiq to Nayak because he wanted to get rid of a criminal case lodged in Bhavnagar against him. Later in his affidavit, Tirodkar claimed that he was a witness to the transfer of Sadiq's custody to the Gujarat police by Nayak a few days before the encounter, which took place on January 13, 2003.
