Narco test plea on Vanzara rejected
Ahmedabad, June 14: A local court today rejected Gujarat CID`s application seeking narco-analysis test of six policemen, including IPS officer D G Vanzara, accused in the Soharabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

Metropolition judge K J Upadhyay rejected the CID application.Among the three of the six arrested are IPS officers D G Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandian and Dinesh M N (all the three are suspended).

The other three accused policemen are N H Dabhi, Santram Sharma and Ajay Parmar.

Earlier, on June 7 the court had reserved its order on the petition of state CID seeking narco-analysis test of six policemen.

The defence argued that narco-analysis test of any accused cannot be conducted without his approval.

It also said that remand period of all the six policemen is over and they cannot be subjected to any further police custody.

Prosecution told the court the narco-analysis test of the accused is required to be done to find out the motive behind the fake encounter of Sheikh and alleged murder of his wife Kausar Bi.

Sheikh was killed on November 26, 2005 on the outskirts of the city in a joint operation by state Anti Terrorist Squad and Rajasthan. (With Thanks from "zeenews.com")
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D.G. Vanzara has ailing heart, says counsel
Ahmedabad, May 25, 2007 (PTI): The counsel representing arrested IPS officer DG Vanzara in Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case on Friday pleaded before a court not to allow Gujarat CID to conduct narco-analysis tests on his client as he has a heart ailment and it will adversely affect his health.

Vanzara has a heart ailment and has been treated for the same several times in the recent past, said advocate Mitesh Amin when the plea for conducting narco-analysis tests on Vanzara and five others arrested in the case came up for hearing.

Giving a list of dates to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate KJ Upadhaya, the advocate stated that Vanzara had undergone an ECG for a heart aliment in April 2002.

Vanzara was thereafter admitted for two days at Krishana Heart hospital in March 2003 with the heart ailment.

In July 2005, he was treated at the Sanjeevani Heart hospital and on September 15, 2006 he was again treated for the heart ailment at the Apollo hospital in Gandhinagar.

Amin argued that the chemicals injected while undergoing narco-analysis tests could adversely affect Vanzara's health.

The advocate, who also represents the SP (Intelligence) Rajkumar Pandian, submitted that he (Pandian) should also not be subjected to narco-analysis as it could cause irrepairable loss and damage to his health.

He also told the court that the consent of the accused was also necessary for a narco-analysis test.

The advocate representing IPS official Dinesh Kumar asked for time to make a reply to the court on this issue. (With Thanks from "hindustantimes.com")


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D. G. Vanzara's custody ends
Ahmedabad, May 08, 2007: Suspended IPS officer D G Vanzara's 15 day police custody ends today (May 8) along with that of the other police officers accused in the Sohrabbudin fake encounter killings, Dinesh MN and Rajkumar Pandiyan.

Vanzara to appear in court: They will be produced in court which will announce the prosecution's application seeking permission for narco-analysis for the 3 IPS officers. Vanzara, who headed the Anti Terrorist Squad of Gujarat police till recently was arrested along with the other 2 IPS officers in a fake encounter case in which Sohrabuddin Sheikh was killed in 2005. The CID team headed by Geeta Johri have finished conducting excavations in the DG Vanzara's farm to look for remains of Kausar Bi, wife of Sohrabuddin Sheikh who was allegedly killed burnt by Vanzara and others. (With Thanks from timesnow.tv)


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Congress fears conspiracy to kill D. G. Vanzara
New Delhi, May 08: Congress today said it feared of a conspiracy to kill controversial Vanzara and alleged it will be "used" by the Narendra Modi-led government.

"There could be a conspiracy to get Vanzara killed at the hands of a Muslim and use the incident to trigger Hindu-Muslim riots across the entire Gujarat," Congress spokesman Satyavrat Chaturvedi told reporters.

"Such a conspiracy is being hatched," Chaturvedi said. (With thanks from zeenews.com)


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Guru keeps encounter cop ticking - D. G. Vanzara draws comfort from tele-evangelist
Ahmedabad, (SUJAN DUTTA) May 5, 2007: D.G. Vanzara, the Gujarat police officer now in a lock-up on charges of killing Sohrabuddin Sheikh in a fake encounter and then his wife Kauser Bi in cold blood, today said the teachings of new-age guru and tele-evangelist Asaram Bapu were seeing him through his difficult times.

But Vanzara did not show any signs of strain in a brief verbal encounter with the media in a metropolitan magistrate’s court this morning.

He was brought to the court along with co-accused superintendents of police, Rajkumar Pandian and Dineshkumar M.N.

Pandian and Dineshkumar avoided getting within earshot of the media.

Speaking in Gujarati and Hindi, Vanzara said: “The battle lines have been drawn.” Before an explanation of the “battle lines” could be asked, he moved on. Someone asked him if he was feeling “abandoned”.

The magistrate remanded the three officers in police custody till May 8. The CID also moved an application seeking permission to subject the officers to narco-analysis tests, a medico-psychological procedure for interrogation.

The three officers have refused to undergo the tests. Unless the court grants the investigators permission, they cannot be subjected to it.

As the officers were brought to the court on the fourth floor of the building, onlookers rushed to catch a glimpse. There were stray slogans from three small groups — one shouting “Vanzara zindabad” was the loudest. Slogans of “Sohrabuddin zindabad” and even “Prajapati zindabad” were heard.

Tulsi Prajapati, said to be both an accomplice of Sohrabuddin and a police informer, was killed in an encounter in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district on December 28, 2006, while he was being escorted to Ahmedabad from Udaipur. That killing is also being investigated.

Today, asked about Kauser, Vanzara shot back: “Who Kauser?”

He said he has stated in court that Sohrabuddin was a terrorist and saw no reason to alter his stand.

Almost patronisingly, he looked at the large gathering of journalists — some of whom he appeared to have met — and said: “I have no grudge against you. You are not being personal.”

Vanzara said he could not read newspapers or watch television in the lock-up but was listening to discourses of Asaram Bapu. His main ashram is on the banks of the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad and he claims among his followers politicians of many hues. Prominent among them is Gujarat health minister Ashok Bhatt against whom civil rights organisations have levelled allegations of instigating rioters in 2002.

Vanzara said he was doing yoga prescribed by the guru.

Several of those who turned up in court today, as last week, to hero-worship Vanzara are also volunteers for the VHP. (With Thanks from Telegraph, Calcutta)


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It's a one-sided case: D. G. Vanzara
Ammedabad, Saturday, May 05, 2007: In a shocking admission exclusively before TIMES NOW, arrested Gujarat DIG, D G Vanzara has said that there is no material evidence against him in the Gujarat fake encounter case.

“It’s a one-sided case”: Looking visibly composed and confident, Vanzara appeared in the Gujarat metropolitan court today (May 5) reiterating that the case was completely one sided. The court however extended the police remand of Vanzara and the two-co-accused IPS officers till May 8.

CID's application for further remand was accepted by the court on grounds that there was need for further investigation because of the involvement of high profile officers and to clarify the mystery behind fake encounter victim Sohrabuddin Sheikh's wife Kausar Bi's death. (With Thanks from timesnow.tv)


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Mediapersons attacked in D. G. Vanzara's village
Ahmedabad, April 28 (PTI): A group of people, mostly members of Vanzara community, pelted stones at mediapersons who had gone to the village of arrested Deputy Inspector General of Police D G Vanzara today.

Mediapersons belonging to two television channels were prevented from going near Vanzara's house at Ilol in Himmatnagar town of Sabarkantha district, to take footage and bytes of the people, official sources said.

The villagers were angry over the presence of media team near the residence of the arrested IPS officer who is accused of being involved in the fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Shaikh. (With Thanks from "The Hindu")


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D.G. Vanzara Case: Don't glorify criminals, says BJP
NEW DELHI, April 28, 2007: Opposition BJP seems to be digging in its heels as pressure mounts on its party's government in Gujarat over the encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. In a bid to defend the Narendra Modi government over the arrest of two Gujarat IPS officials for the fake encounter killing, the BJP on Friday came out with a list of offences against those who had been killed in the police firing, including one with the offences that Sohrabuddin had been booked under.

The party, under pressure after three police officers were arrested for the encounter killing, said it would be wrong to glorify the "victims" of the police action. Even Gujarat home minister Amit Shah has been charged by opposition Congress of protecting the police officers in question.

The list, furnished by the Gujarat government, showed that Sohrabuddin had 12 cases registered against him, three of them in Maharashtra, two in Madhya Pradesh and one in Rajasthan. Interestingly, many of the cases had been registered at a time when Congress governments were in office in MP and Maharashtra. He was essentially charged under the Arms Act and the National Security Act.

"What we want to emphasise is that it would be wrong to glorify the victims. They were not innocent," senior BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra said when faced with a volley of questions on whether the saffron party justified the killing of people because of their criminal records. Malhotra produced another list that showed 56 cases — some of them under the Arms Act, Tada and Pota — were registered against Tulsiram Prajapati, another man shot dead by the Gujarat police.

The BJP leader, whose party had on numerous occasions sought CBI probe into cases relating to its political opponents, rejected the rivals' demands for such a probe into the Gujarat encounters.

"Let the Supreme Court make a decision. It's (SC) higher than the CBI, which will do what the ruling Congress would like it to," he said. Gujarat's DIG (anti-terrorist squad) D G Vanzara and SP (Intelligence) Rajkumar Pandian and Rajasthan's SP (Alwar) Dinesh M N are under arrest in connection with the killings. (With thanks from "The Times of India")


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Govt to launch drive against bogus caste, tribe certificates: K. G. Vanzara
Alerted by BSF letter, which says two north Indians tried to pass themselves off as tribals from Gujarat

Gandhinagar, November 8: The state social welfare department has decided to launch a drive to unearth rackets in obtaining central government jobs using bogus domicile and caste certificates.

Besides launching the drive, the department will also tighten procedure for verification of a person before issuing him a caste, tribe, or domicile certificate, said K.G. Vanzara, a director in the department, on Tuesday.

The proposed drive is prompted by an alert from the Border Security Force (BSF). Last week, the BSF wrote to the department that two north Indians had obtained reserved jobs in its 41st Batallion by submitting certificates that they were tribals from Gujarat. It had asked the department to verify the certificates.

The two men had enlisted at a recruitment mela for sub-inspectors held in Cooch Behar. They gave their surnames as Rathwa and Chaudhary, used by tribals of Gujarat. They also presented tribe certificates to back their claim and domicile certificates giving addresses in Ahmedabad. The department had ascertained that the certificates and the addresses were bogus and asked the BSF to cancel the appointments.

The letter from the BSF cited a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) report to Delhi High Court that about 30 per cent of reserved jobs across the country were being cornered by such impostors.

‘‘This instance is only a tip of the iceberg,’’ said Vanzara. ‘‘Detailed investigations will turn up many such Rathwas and Chaudharys.’’

He said that in the last three years, his department scrutinised some 60,000 certificates and found 2,000 fakes, which had been used for getting central or state government jobs, or admission to professional courses.

In recent years, large-scale irregularities were found in certificates of caste, tribe, or domicile issued by MLAs and MPs. Therefore, the government had withdrawn their power to issue these certificates, Vanzara said.

He said three social welfare officers of his department, too, had been arrested in connection with fake certificates presented by candidates in GPSC exams.

After the BSF letter, the department has asked taluka and district level authorities to conduct proper inquiry before issuing certificates.

Gujarat Social Justice & Empowerment Minister Ramanlal Vora confirmed the BSF incident and said his officials had asked the BSF to cancel the appointments.