Apex Court is to hear Haren Pandya murder case for investigation

Dead men tell many tales

On February 12, the Supreme Court is to hear the litigation filed for renewing the investigation in the former home minister of Gujarat, Haren Pandya's murder case. The litigation has been filed by a NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL).  Taking the ground of new facts which is akin to the Haren Pandya's murder case, the petition says that the CBI had not done any investigation taking the facts in its cognizance.

The petition refers the statement of witness, Azam Khan, in the Sohrabuddin Shekh encounter case in Mumbai lower court in November last year. In this statement Azam Khan admitted about the bounty of Haren Pandya’s murder as was told him by Shekh, and a senior police officer was also involved. Azam Khan, in his statement, claimed that the same thing he had told the CBI in year 2010, but they had refused to record this statement.

According to the PTI, CPIL’s litigation refers that the retired IPS,DG Vanjara, including other police officers with the political persons might have been involved in the Haren Pandya’s murder as the witness statement reveals. According to the petition, this witness even had exposed that Sohrabbuding with Tulsi Ram Prajapati including two other had killed Pandya.

Haren Pandya was the Home Minister in Gujarat government under the leadership Narendra Modi; while he had resigned from his post and he had been killed in a car outside Law Garden at Ahemdabad in the same year. He was at morning walk here. the prima facie murder investigation was carried out by the crime branch under then deputy police commissioner, DG Vanjara although Jagriti Pandya, Harenpandya’s wife, had  suspected some amiss and posed her question  on this investigation.

"My son's death was a planned, political murder...it must be reinvestigated."
—Vithal Pandya, father of the late Haren Pandya, former Gujarat revenue minister, to Outlook on November 7, 2007

The investigation of murder case had been referred to the CBI who had arrested and accused 15 peoples. The Trial Court had convicted 12 peoples, but the Gujarat High Court acquitted all these on the ground of no enough evidence against them. The CBI appeal is still on pending in SC.