Bereft of hope, Ishrat 's mother says won't attend case proceedings

Ahmedabad: Shamima Kausar, the mother of Ishrat Jahan who was killed in an alleged fake encounter by the Gujarat Police, on Tuesday, told a special CBI court here that she can no longer attend the case proceedings as she feels "hopeless and helpless" after a prolonged fight for justice.

Special CBI court Judge R K Chudawala is hearing the discharge applications filed by four accused policemen, including Inspector General of Police G L Singhal, former DSP Tarun Barot, ex-DySP J G Parmar, and assistant sub-inspector Anaju Chaudhary.

"I am heartbroken, my spirit shattered, as the perpetuation of this culture of impunity," Kausar said in a letter filed before Judge Chudawala's court.

Kausar said she was distancing herself from the court proceedings and calling upon the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to secure the conviction of the accused persons.

"After this prolonged fight for justice, I now feel hopeless and helpless. More than 15 years have passed, all the accused, including police officials, are on bail. Some of them were reinstated by the Gujarat government even as they faced prosecution for the murder of my daughter. After 15 years, the trial has barely begun," she said.

Kausar claimed that her daughter was innocent and killed as a result of a "horrific criminal conspiracy and design because she was a Muslim woman, and it served political interest to project her as a dreaded terrorist".