Wanted Gujarat Ex- minister arrested after high drama

Former Gujarat minister of state for home affairs Amit Shah, who has been playing hide and seek with the CBI was arrested on Sunday, though he denied charges of being involved in the case of a fake encounter killing of a gangster and his wife.

Shah had been missing since Thursday after the CBI issued a summons for him in connection with the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. On Sunday, he made a dramatic appearance before the press at the Bharatiya Janata Party state headquarters in Ahmedabad and said he will present himself before the agency for questioning.

Facing charges of murder and kidnapping, Shah, a close associate of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi , said the charges against him were "fabricated and politically motivated". Shah, 46, had resigned from the state government on Saturday. He said that he could not respond to the summons by the CBI due to paucity of time.

Shah drove to the agency's office in Ahmedabad accompanied by BJP state office-bearers. Waving to mediapersons after alighting from his car at the CBI office, he found that officers of the probe agency were waiting for him. "The CBI officials told Shah that they will take him straight to the court to which he agreed," said BJP leader Vijay Rupani, who accompanied Shah.

He was whisked in a car from the CBI office to the residence of Judicial Magistrate A Y Dave by the agency officials, including Inspector General P Kandaswamy. He was taken to the magistrate's house as courts were closed today. The magistrate sent Shah to judicial custody for 14 days.

Shah told reporters earlier, "I have full faith in the judiciary and I am sure the allegations against me will be cleared by the courts," demanding that his questioning by the CBI should be video-graphed.

"I have full faith in the judiciary, the people of Gujarat and BJP workers. I will fight the battle in the court of law and the party will fight the political battle at a political level," Shah said. Replying to a query on where he was in the last couple of days, Shah said, "I was at the residence of one of my friends like you journalists."

Referring to Sohrabuddin, he alleged that 40 AK-47 rifles, about a hundred grenades and Rs one lakh worth of ammunition were recovered from Sohrabuddin's house. "Can anyone say that he was innocent?" he asked.

The Central Bureau of Investigation's probe has revealed that Sohrabuddin Sheikh's wife Kausarbi was killed in a farmhouse on outskirts of Gandhinagar, her body was burnt and ashes were thrown in Narmada river near Bharuch. The charge sheet further said Indian Police Service officer D G Vanzara, one of the key accused in the case, was allegedly instructed to eliminate Kausarbi by Gujarat minister Amit Shah.

- Asian Tribune -