SIT ex-chief rejects Mani's 'torture' charge, asks why he didn't file complaint in 2013

Former Special Investigation Team chief Satish Verma on Wednesday denied 'torture' charges levelled by former Home Ministry official RVS Mani. Verma questioned as to why Mani did not file the complaint in 2013 itself.

Verma probed the Ishrat Jahan encounter case.

"The allegations are completely wrong. If in June 2013 it happened, he should have taken action, made a complaint. No official in India government is ever tortured or talked badly to. Mr Mani has constantly improving what he had to say. He said I burnt him with cigarette buds, but then why didn't he say this in the first instance in July 2013," said Verma.

Mani, former undersecretary, has alleged that he was physically harassed during the interrogation to sign the second affidavit. The affidavit had said that there was no conclusive evidence to show the four killed - Ishrat Jahan, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana - were terrorists.

Mani has alleged physical torture by Satish Verma. "He (Satish Verma) started narrating nonsense, became physical. He had put cigarette butts on my thighs," Mani claimed.

When asked whether Ishrat's encounter was fake, Verma said, "That is the evidence on the basis of which the CBI has filed chargesheets."

Meanwhile, sources in the Home Ministry said that file notings showed that the affidavit in the Ishrat case was changed by then home minister P Chidambaram himself.

According to the sources, Chidambaram changed the first affidavit, bypassing officials including then home secretary GK Pillai. The sources said that the changed affidavit ignored inputs from police and Intelligence Bureau. File notings showed Pillai sent file to Chidambaram on September 23, 2009. Next day the file was returned with Chidambaram writing 'as amended' and giving direction that a clear copy should be shown to him before sending it to the court. On the same day, Pillai wrote 'a clear copy was shown to the Home Minister', added sources.

Ishrat, 19, was killed along with Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai from Kerala, and two alleged Pakistanis - Zeeshan Johar and Amjad Ali Rana - on June 15, 2004 on the outskirts of Ahmedabad.