Kochi: Petitioner in Ishrat Jahan case dies in road accident

One of the petitioners in the Ishrat Jahan Case, succumbed to his injuries on Friday. The 77-year-old petitioner had met with an accident on Wednesday morning in Kerala.

The deceased has been identified as Gopinath Pillai.

Pillai, a retired teacher, was the father of Pranesh Kumar Pillai, who along with Ishrat Jahan and two others was shot dead by Gujarat Police in 2004.

According to police, Pillai was on his way to Kochi for a medical check-up when his car was rear-ended by a truck. The retired teacher was rushed to hospital with multiple wounds, where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

“A case of accident has been registered. We are proving the case in all angles,” a senior IPS officer not willing to be quoted said.

Pranesh, along with 19-year-old Ishrat Jahan and two others were shot dead near Ahmedabad in June, 2004. Gujarat Police officers claimed that the four were Lashkar-e-Taiba militants. The police also stated that the four were planning to assassinate Narendra Modi, who was then the chief minister of Gujarat.

According to police, Pranseh had converted to Islam to marry a Muslim woman.