Sohrabuddin case: Rahul Gandhi targets Amit Shah, Iran hits back

Rahul Gandhi

Congress president Rahul Gandhi Thursday attacked BJP chief Amit Shah over a key CBI investigator's testimony in a Mumbai court on an alleged fake encounters case, following which Union Minister Smriti Irani accused him of being a "lie machine".

Gandhi used a news report quoting the chief CBI investigator into the "fake encounters" of Sohrabuddin Shaikh and Tulsiram Prajapati alleging that Shah was a "key conspirator" in the case.

He also took a swipe at the BJP, saying it is "completely appropriate" for the party to have such a person as its chief, who has been called a "key conspirator" in an investigative officer's testimony in court.

"The Gita says you can never escape the truth and so it has always been. Sandeep Tamgadge has called Amit Shah a 'key conspirator' in his testimony. It's completely appropriate for the BJP to have such a man as its President," he said on Twitter.

Irani hit back saying, "JhoothKiMachine" Rahul Gandhi is back in action. He knows that after following due process, court discharged Mr Shah in 2014. Court had also held that Amit bhai was implicated by CBI for political reasons."

"Will Rahul answer who in the UPA ordered this political witch-hunt," she asked.

"Does National Herald Loot 'Bail Dharak' Rahul Gandhi not remember that he had dispatched Sibal to challenge Amitbhai's discharge and petition was summarily dismissed," she asked in a tweet.

Irani also hit out at Gandhi's Gita barb, saying, "Am convinced - had Mr Gandhi opened the Gita even once in his life, he wouldn't be indulging in such brazen lies."

Chief investigation officer (CIO) Sandeep Tamgade deposed in a CBI court that BJP chief Amit Shah and three IPS officers were the main conspirators behind the alleged fake encounters of Sohrabuddin Shaikh and Tulsiram Prajapati.

He, however, conceded that his claim was not supported by any documentary evidence in the charge sheet filed by him.

"From the investigation done by us, we found the principal conspirators were Amit Shah, D G Vanzara (former Deputy Inspector-General Gujarat Police), Rajkumar Pandian (SP, Intelligence Bureau) and M N Dinesh (IPS officer, Rajasthan Police)," Tamgade said.

All four have been discharged by the trial court in the case.

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