New Delhi, Jan. 14: The Supreme Court has issued notices to former CBI director Vijay Shankar and several senior police officials, asking why contempt action should not be taken against them for threatening a Nithari victim’s mother from Bengal, her lawyer claimed today.

“The court issued notices on our contempt petition,” Shakti Singh Dhakray said shortly after chamber judge Tarun Chatterjee heard the matter. The media is barred from these hearings.

The victim’s mother, Bandana Sarkar, 45, had alleged foul play in the death of her husband Jatin, a rickshaw-puller and a key witness in the Nithari case, and sought contempt action against the officials for threatening her.

The couple had identified their daughter Pinki, 19, from her salwar kameez when her remains were found near the house of Noida businessman Moninder Singh Pandher. At least 19 human skulls were found in the drain outside Pandher’s house in December 2006.

Pandher and his Man Friday, Surender Koli, were arrested on charges of raping and murdering children from nearby Nithari village.

Bandana had alleged that her husband was “eliminated” as part of a “conspiracy” by certain CBI officials to protect Pandher from conviction. Jatin was found dead in a Bengal village days before he was to appear for a scheduled cross-examination by the trial court on September 10, 2007.

She had named the then CBI director, Vijay Shankar, superintendent of police S.J.M. Gilani, deputy SP Dinesh Yadav, Murshidabad SP Rahul Srivastava, inspector Ajay Singh, Noida SP Paresh Pandey, Agra SSP Navin Arora and the deputy SP and in-charge of the police legal cell, Behrampore, Murshidabad, Santo Mitra.

The same officials were now conspiring to “eliminate” her and other key witnesses, she said. They had “committed deliberate and conscious interference in the administration of justice by way of misusing their power” to prevent her from getting justice, Bandana has alleged.

Her lawyer Dhakray said the judge asked why Bandana wanted to withdraw her contempt petition against the seven and wondered if it was because she was “afraid”.

When the reply was in the affirmative, the judge refused to allow the petition to be withdrawn and issued the notices, Dhakray added.

The CBI has denied Bandana’s allegation that it was trying to shield Pandher and Koli.