UPA govt weakened terror case against Ishrat by changing affidavit: Rajnath
10 March, New Delhi
Launching a frontal attack on the Congress, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today told the Lok Sabha that UPA government had first told the court that Ishrat Jahan was a terrorist then later changed the statement at the behest of the then Home Minister, saying there was no proof that she was the one.
Responding to the Calling Attention motion on Ishrat Jahan terror encounter case, Singh in a statement laid before the House that the Government had reneged from its earlier stand that Ishrat was a terrorist.
Singh said the conflicting affidavits were filed before the Gujarat High Court by the Home Ministry on August 6, 2009 and September 29, 2009, while defending its position on a plea filed by Ishrat’s mother Shamima Kausar, who had demanded a CBI probe in the encounter.”The first affidavit was filed in the Gujarat High Court on August 6, 2009 after it was approved by the then Union Home Minister.
In the said affidavit, it was submitted that Union of India had received specific inputs to suggest that Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) had been planning to carry out the terrorist activities in various parts of the country, including the state of Gujarat,” Singh said.”It was also submitted that the Union of India was aware of the inputs that the LeT was planning to carry out assassination of some top-level national and state leaders and LeT in this regard had tasked its India based cadres to monitor their movements,” Singh stated.
”It was further stated that Union of India had learnt that LeT had inducted its cadres, including Pakistani LeT terrorists in Gujarat for specific terrorist action and that Government and its agencies were and are regularly sharing such inputs with the state Governments concerned. The affidavit also provided the background and linkages of Javed Sheikh, Amjad Ali, Jishan Johar and Ishrat Jahan,” Singh said.
The Home Minster stated before the House that in a police action with the Ahmedabad police on June 15, 2004, four persons namely Javed Sheikh, Jishan Johar, Amjad Ali and Ishrat Jahan were killed.Mr Singh pointed out that the notings on the concerned file do not provide any reason for filing of the second affidavit, dated August 29, 2009.In the further subsequent affidavit, it was stated that all intelligence inputs do not constitute conclusive proof and it is for the State Government and the State Police to act on such inputs.
It was further submitted that the Central Government is in no way concerned with such action, nor does it condone or endorse any unjustified or excessive action, Singh stated before the House.The Home Minster further stated that David Coleman Headley, an accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, had expressed desire to become approver in the case, provided he is granted pardon by the Court.
The Court of competent jurisdiction in Mumbai had tendered pardon to David Coleman Headley. ”Thereafter, Headley was examined by the prosecution as a witness in the trial case relating to 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. During his testimony in the Mumbai Court through video conferencing, David Coleman Headley mentioned that he had learnt from his accomplices that there was a ‘botched up operation,’ in India in which one female terrorist was killed in a shootout with the police. The Public Prosecutor gave the option of three names to identify the said female terrorist, whereupon Headley identified Ishrat Jahan as the terrorist concerned,” Singh said in the statement laid before the House.