Ahmedabad: Principal district judge K M Sojitra on Wednesday sentenced a man from Mumbai, Irfan Shaikh alias Kaliya, to five years’ imprisonment for firing at a deputy superintendent of police (DySP) in 2020 when anti-terrorism squad (ATS) officials raided a hotel on Relief Road.
While convicting the accused for attempted murder under the Indian Penal Code and under the Arms Act, the special designated judge for Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime (GujCTOC) acquitted Shaikh along with one more accused, Siddhesh Kharade, of charges of criminal conspiracy to commit terrorism in Gujarat by killing former state home minister Gordhan Zadafiya in the aftermath of the 2002 riots. Both the accused were acquitted of the charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and GujCTOC.
According to the prosecution’s case, Pakistan-based Chhota Shakeel gang contracted Kharade to kill Zadafiya because he was home minister during the 2002 riots. Kharade sub-contracted the job to Shaikh for half the money he was allegedly getting from the gang. ATS conducted a raid, and Shaikh allegedly opened fire at DySP B P Rojiya, who was not hurt in the incident.tnn