Ishrat Jahan files: Congress on the docks, Sonia has no substantive defense

8 years ago

Folomojo

As the controversial Ishrat Jahan case boomerangs on the Congress party and new whistle-blowers take center stage, the party needs to really buckle up for fresh kicks to its teeth.

After former union home secretary G K Pillai, another UPA functionary’s ‘revelations’ about the Ishrat-fake-encounter files that were submitted at the Gujarat High Court by the Congress-led government in 2009, has added to the party’s woes.

Though the former union minister P Chidambaram has defended his role in filing a second affidavit in the case, if the Supreme Court (SC) assents to initiate contempt of court proceeding against him, it would come as a fresh blow to the party. Currently the SC on Tuesday considered the hearing of PIL which seeks contempt of action against him for ‘perjury and misleading the apex court and the Gujarat High Court’.

Also read: P Chidambaram called out in Ishrat Jahan case, Congress on the back foot

Former under secretary at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) RVS Mani who signed both the Ishrat Jahan affidavits from the UPA government, in a shocking revelation to Times Now, has alleged that SIT chief Satish Verma had physically tortured him during the process.

“The SIT chief burned me with cigarette stubs. I was chased by CBI officers,” he said in interview to Times Now.

According to Mani, he drafted the first affidavit which was filed at the court. It asserted the LeT links of the persons named in it. However, he has conceded G K Pillai’s claim that the second affidavit contradicted the first by citing lack of evidence in Ishrat’s LeT connections. Ishrat died in the alleged fake encounter.

“Satish Verma was head of the unit of SIT and he was helped by two three cronies who were all engineering evidences. That’s what I can say. On 21 June 2013. Yes, Satish Verma burnt me with his cigarettes,” Mani said in his interview to Times Now.

In another revelation that could hurt the party, Mani Kanwar’s lawyer BB Singh has alleged that Mani had informed the government about the episodes of abuse by Satish Verma.

“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 affidavits he received two letters threatening his life,” DNA quoted Singh.

Meanwhile, the Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday came out in favour of Chidambaram. In a strategy meeting held by the Congress, she told the Congress MPs that the party was caught in the opponents’ crossfire since it was in office.

“Chidambaram ji has already explained. We have been targeted since we were in government,” reports quoted the Congress chief.

Sonia, who is yet to call a press meeting, has significantly failed to defend both the party and Chidambaram with regard to the gravity of charges levelled against them.