The Indian Express: Ahmedabad: Tuesday, August 14, 2018.
Special CBI
judge K M Dave, who is presiding over the murder trial of RTI activist Amit
Jethva has sought “round-the-clock” security for himself and his family, citing
the “sensitivity” of the case. Former BJP MP from Junagadh, Dinu Bogha Solanki,
is the prime accused in the case, and is currently on bail.
Sources in
the CBI said that on behalf of judge KM Dave, then principal sessions court
judge A R Patel had written a letter to the CBI Director in June this year
asking for the security cover.
When The
Indian Express sought a response from judge Dave, he said, “It is in process. I
would not like to talk about it. You ask the concerned department.”
A CBI
official on the condition of anonymity confirmed that judge Patel’s letter
cited the murder trial of Amit Jethva as the reason for seeking the security
cover. “In the letter ( reference number 295/2018) the principal judge has
mentioned that special judge K M Dave is conducting trial of sensitive case of
RTI activist Amit Jethva murder case and therefore, adequate security should be
provided to the judge’s residence by paramilitary force,” the CBI official
said.
The official
added that the Centre had recently ordered security assessment of the judge.
“We have learnt that the Central government has recently ordered to get the
security cover assessment done by the Intelligence Bureau (IB). Based on their
report, security will be provided to the judge. We don’t have any update on the
issue till date,” the official said.
Jethva was
shot dead on July 20, 2010 by two assailants outside the Gujarat High Court.
Through RTI replies, the social worker had exposed illegal mining activities in
Gir forest allegedly by former MP Solanki. Initially, the murder case was
investigated by Ahmedabad Detection Crime Branch (DCB) which chargesheeted six
persons Shiva Solanki ( nephew of Dinu Solanki), Shailesh Pandya, Bahadursinh
Vadher, Panchan G Desai, Sanjay Chauhan and Udaji Thakore. Solanki was given
clean chit by the DCB, which forced Jethva’s father Bhikhabhai to move the High
Court.
The High
Court ordered the CBI to probe, and Solanki was arrested in 2013 from Delhi and
was chargesheeted in the murder case. The CBI has accused Solanki as the main
conspirator.
The trial of
Amit Jethva case has seen several twists. Both the probes one by the DCB and
the other by the CBI were clubbed together, and the central probe agency was
asked to conduct the murder trial. When the trial began, one by one witnesses
started turning hostile. Jethva’s father moved the High Court again, seeking
fresh trial on the ground that 105 witnesses out of a total of 195 turned
hostile allegedly under the pressure from the BJP leader. By then, the trial
had concluded.
The High
Court stayed the trial and later ordered a fresh trial. The court also directed
to replace the then special judge Dinesh L Patel.
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