HC asks CBI if cops had gone with Prajapati as escort team

The Bombay High Court on Friday asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to confirm whether the four police officials, who had accompanied Tulsiram Prajapati to Ahmedabad just days before his alleged encounter, had gone with Prajapati as his escort team on previous occasions as well.

The High Court’s question came after Rajasthan IPS officer Dinesh MN, one of the discharged accused in the encounter case of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi, and their aide Tulsiram Prajapati denied all charges against him. Dinesh claimed that he had had no role in choosing the escort team officials who had accompanied Prajapati to Ahmedabad for a court hearing.

As per the CBI, soon after this court hearing in December 2006, Prajapati was killed in a fake encounter by a team of Gujarat and Rajasthan police officers. However, the four officials who were part of his escort team, made up a false story about Prajapati having escaped from custody while they were returning to Udaipur in a train.

Inspector Narayan Singh, ASI Yudhveer Singh, and constables Dalpat Singh Rathod, and Kartar Singh from the Surajpol police station in Udaipur we’re part of the escort team that had accompanied Tulsiram Prajapati from Udaipur Central Prison to Ahmedabad for a court hearing in December 2006.

Dinesh’s counsel advocate Raja Thackeray told HC that since the jail authorities had asked for an escort team saying they did not have adequate number of officials, he merely directed the Surajpol police to send a team.