AHMEDABAD,

Thirteen policemen in the western Indian state of Gujarat have been charged with murdering a Muslim couple and passing the husband’s corpse off as that of an Islamist militant to advance their careers and earn rewards.

Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kauser Bi were riding aboard a bus when they were picked up by police in Gujarat in November 2005.

They were taken to a farmhouse on the outskirts of Ahmedabad city where, over an unknown period of time, they were tortured and eventually killed, according to the chargesheet said.

The policemen pretended Sheikh was a member of the outlawed Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) who was plotting to assassinate the state’s chief minister, and that they had killed him in a gun battle, according to the chargesheet.

The case has made headlines in India, highlighting what rights groups say is a common method by corrupt police in many parts of India to earn praise and money.

Bi’s body – not needed in the charade – was secretly burnt, according to the chargesheet.

“The police killed the two without any concrete evidence against them,” the chargesheet filed in a Gujarat trial court on Monday said. “All investigations prove it as an act of personal glory by the police.”

The thirteen policemen, including D G Vanzara, the suspended deputy inspector general of Gujarat police, are charged with murder, criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, wrongful confinement and destroying evidence.

Lawyers for the policemen said they had no comment on the charges.

The Gujarat government admitted in the Supreme Court in March this year that police killed Sheikh knowing he was not a terrorist. The court ordered Gujarat police to carry out a new investigation.

Investigators found that while Sheikh was a petty criminal involved in an extortion racket, his killers had no evidence he was linked with LeT, a police official said, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The case was originally investigated after Sohrabuddin’s brother went to the Supreme Court demanding a probe.

In February, authorities charged over a dozen policemen and soldiers with killing at least two civilians in Kashmir in faked gun battles and pretending they had killed militants.

Source by thepeninsulaqatar.com