A CBI court has indirectly admitted it helplessness, when it has declared the verdict of the infamous Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. The court has been forced to acquit all 22 culprits in the case due to the lack of evidence. There is no doubt that had the main witnesses in the case not turned hostile the verdict would have been different. The prosecution has presented nearly 210 witnesses in the case; at least 92 witnesses have turned hostile during the trial. Don’t you feel that the witness protection laws often fail when it comes to deal with the matter of the high profile cases in which powerful is involved?
The case against the 22 acquitted personals was that they abducted alleged Gangster Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi and his aid Tulsiram Prajapati, and murdered them in three separate fake encounters. In the earlier stages, there were allegations that the encounters were committed at the behest of those in power in Gujarat then.
It is important to note that those who were in power in Gujarat then are powerful now also and their power has only increased over these years, not decreased.
Of the 22 acquitted persons, at least 21 are junior level officers. The odd one is the owner of the farm house where the gangster and his wife were allegedly kept for three days for the process of interrogation.
Weak prosecution means weak government. Both are not good for the system. It is high time to recognise it.
Vignesh. S. G
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