Ahmedabad: The judicial custody of former Gujarat minister Amit Shah, arrested in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, was extended till September 3 by a special CBI court here on Friday. Chief Additional Judicial Magistrate A Y Dave also rejected the BJP leader's application seeking permission to register his presence in the court through video-conferencing from the Sabarmati Central Jail, where he is lodged. In the application moved through jail authorities yesterday, Shah had cited security reasons for his request.
The court observed that in the interest of justice, Shah has to remain present in the court and directed the jail officials to provide him necessary security and asked them to produce him before it on September 3. Shah was sent to judicial custody till August 21 after he was interrogated by CBI for two days on August 7-8. The former minister of state for home was interrogated in CBI custody for over eight hours each day. CBI had obtained Shah's remand on ground that he was the "kingpin" of the entire conspiracy leading to the November 2005 encounter of Sohrabuddin, killing of his wife Kausar Bi and Tulsi Prajapati, his associate and a key witness. Hearing on Shah's bail plea is scheduled for August 30 in the special court. PTI
