Ishrat Jahan case: P Chidambaram knew about RVS Mani's torture during probe, says lawyer

Former undersecretary for internal security at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) RVS Mani's lawyer Kanwar BB Singh on Wednesday questioned the then home minister P Chidambaram's silence in the Ishrat Jahan case, adding that the report of alleged abuse was informed during the UPA Government's rule.

"Mani had written to the senior officers about the torture by Satish Verma (CBI Officer) during investigation. It is not that these things have been revealed by Mani now. These were informed during the UPA Government's rule. Why the then home minister kept mum on the affidavit issue. When we filed two affidavit he received two letters threatening his life," Singh said.

"In 2013, Mani came across all those controversies when he contacted me and told me that all these things are happening. Narender Kanti bhai Amin filed a writ in the Supreme Court regarding the questions of the proceeding against Mani. Mani was called for investigation in Ahmedabad. A CBI officer Satish Verma asked him so many questions and turned aggressive. Verma used abusive language for Mani, also called him names," he added.

Singh further stated that Mani prepared the first draft of the affidavit in August 2009 which went to the Law Ministry and was approved.

"After 40 days of filing the first affidavit, Mani was asked to sign another affidavit and submit it before the court. Mani stands by his work that the inputs were fine. The Investigation Bureau had done a credible job he still stands by this," he added.

In a revelation that has the potential to spark a fresh political row and disrupt the Parliament functioning, Mani on Tuesday claimed that he did not draft the second affidavit and had been ordered to sign the file in the Ishrat Jahan case.

His claims came days after former home secretary GK Pillai alleged that former home minister P Chidambaram bypassed him and rewrote the second affidavit submitted to a court in this connection.

Last week, Pillai had said the Ishrat affidavit was changed at the political level. Chidambaram said on Monday said the revised affidavit was absolutely correct and as a minister he accepts full responsibility for the affidavit. Citing intelligence reports, Chidambaram as home minister had submitted an affidavit in the Gujarat High Court in August 2009, which referred to Ishrat's alleged links with Lashkar-e-Taiba.

However, a revised affidavit was filed within a month, in which all references to Ishrat's alleged terror links were missing. Early on the morning of 15 June 2004, Ishrat Jahan (19), Javed Sheikh, Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana were shot dead on the road leading to the Kotarpur waterworks on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.

Police claimed that she was part of a plot to assassinate the then chief minister Narendra Modi.