Congress party misused CBI to frame BJP president Amit Shah in the alleged fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, claimed Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani on Tuesday.
"Congress misused the CBI in 2010 to frame Amit Shah. There is a clear proof of a political conspiracy by the Congress against our party president," she added.
Union Minister Irani said that the BJP wanted to tell to the people of the country that the Congress would not spare anyone, who becomes a hurdle in their pursuit of power.
CBI arrested Shah in July 2010 in connection with the encounter of Sohrabuddin but was released by the Gujarat High Court on bail in October that year. In December 2014, he was discharged by the CBI court.
Continuing her tirade against the Congress, Irani further said: "Even the court had admitted that these charges were imposed on Amit Shah for political reasons. He fought for eight years and his family was harassed. But the judiciary delivered the truth."
In 2005, Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausar Bi were killed in alleged fake encounters by a joint team of the Gujarat Police and the Rajasthan Police near Ahmedabad.
In 2010, the CBI took over the case from the CID. Special CBI public prosecutor BP Raju submitted that most of the evidence was procured by the Central investigating agency. He also said the trial was hampered because of 92 witnesses turning hostile.
The CBI had filed a charge sheet in 2012, which had named Shah as well as former Rajasthan Home Minister and BJP leader Gulab Chand Kataria as accused in the case.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)