Chaubey’s application denied by CBI court

Mumbai: A special CBI court has rejected an application filed by Balkrishan Chaubey, an accused in the 2005 Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, to charge Bhailalbhai Rathod as an accused in the case.

According to the prosecution, Rathod was a police driver attached to ATS Ahmedabad and he was driving Maruti 800 car of accused Dy SP M. L. Parmar since Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausarbi were picked up till he was killed.

As a witness, Rathod in his statement has told the police that Chaubey’s farmhouse was used to confine Sohrabuddin and his wife before they were killed.

Chaubey in his application had contended that as per Rathod’s statement, four days prior to the encounter Rathod had gone to Disha Farm along with accused Parmar to acquire the farmhouse. He further admitted that he guided and escorted the team arriving from Hydera-bad along with Sohrabu-ddin and Kausarbi to Disha Farm where they were illegally confined. At that time, Parmar and the other accused were also there in said vehicle. It is also revealed in the statement that on the day of incident he brought Sohrabuddin and the other accused in his car to the place where encounter took place.

CBI Judge S J Sharma rejected the application on the ground that the trial has not begun and there was no material before the court to invoke powers under section 319 of the CrPC and make this witness an accused in the case.