Files removed knowingly, unknowingly or misplaced, says probe report

Only one paper out of the five documents related to the controversial alleged Ishrat fake encounter case that went missing from the Home Ministry was found, said Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry BK Prasad in his inquiry report submitted to Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi. 

“It is evident that the documents were removed knowingly or unknowingly or misplaced,” the committee has concluded. The panel, however, made no reference to Chidambaram or anyone in the then UPA government. 

Based on the statements of 11 serving and retired officers, including the then Home Secretary GK Pillai, the 52-page report states that the documents went missing between September 18 and 28, 2009. The second affidavit, which was different from the first one, and filed before the Gujarat high court on September 29, 2009, had said that there was no conclusive evidence to suggest that Ishrat was an LeT operative.

The papers that went missing are office copy of the letter and enclosure sent by the then Home Secretary to the Attorney General on September 18, 2009, office copy of the letter sent by the them Home Secretary to the AG on September 23, 2009, draft further affidavit as vetted by the AG, draft further affidavit amended by the then Home Minister on September 24, 2009 and office copy if the further affidavit filed with the Gujarat High Court on September 29, 2009.

The paper that was retrieved from a computer hard disk was the letter sent by the then Home Secretary to AG on September 18, 2009.

Ishrat, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in the encounter with the Gujarat Police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004. 

he Gujarat Police had then said that those killed in the encounter were LeT terrorists, who had landed in Gujarat to kill the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

According to sources, retired IAS officer Deverakonda Diptivilasa had said that the documents were part of the file which he had sent to seniors during the deliberations before the second affidavit related to the alleged fake encounter case was filed.

However, the five documents were not found in the file when returned, Diptivilasa, who was the then Joint Secretary (Internal Security) in the MHA, is learnt to have told the panel.