Ishrat encounter case: CBI set to soften stand against IB

The fight between the Intelligence Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation will be given a quietus with the latter deciding not to include the name of the IB officer alleged to be involved in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.

The move apparently comes in the wake of the Union ministry of home affairs seeking more time to look into the case relating to the IB officer Rajinder Kumar.

Prima facie, there is no evidence against the IB official, according to MHA sources. The ministry, which is the authority to grant sanction if an IB officer is to be prosecuted, had claimed that the evidence on hand is not satisfactory.

The CBI has had a tough time ever since it named the IB official in the case. It had said that the officer had raised a false alert and also was part of the conspiracy.

The IB, however, claimed that its job is to raise an alert and it does not give instructions of what is to be done of the alert. The CBI then said that it was not questioning the alert and said that it was focusing on the conspiracy part allegedly involving the officer.

The CBI realised that in case it questions the alert, then it would have to question many more IB officials in connection with this case. The alert was raised and the MHA, along with top intelligence officers, were aware of this alert. There were questions as to why only one officer was being singled out in the case.

The CBI realised it was a Herculean task to question all these officers as it would mean challenging the entire system. Moreover, the MHA was also clear that it did not want any shake up in the functioning of the IB.

According to IB officials, all alerts cannot be treated as Grade A alerts. Some alerts are general in nature and it is up to the state police to verify the same. Take the Ishrat Jahan case for instance, the IB had issued an alert and it was up to the state police of both Maharashtra and Gujarat to probe into the matter, coordinate and then act upon it.

For now it is clear that the name of the IB official would not appear in the chargesheet. The CBI has to submit a report on this case by Tuesday.

While it would speak about the alert regarding the case, it would seek more time on the pretext that it needs to investigate some leaders from Gujarat and also more officials alleged to be connected with the encounter case. 

Image: Ishrat Jahan