Ahmedabad, Sept. 17 (PTI): Gujarat High Court today directed the Union home secretary to give names of at least three police officers who could be considered to be part of the special investigation team that could probe the encounter of Ishrat Jahan and three others in 2004.

The directions were issued by a division bench of Justice Jayant Patel and Abhilasha Kumari hearing a review petition by father of Pranesh Pillai alias Javed Ghulam Sheikh, one of those killed along with Ishrat.

In his petition, Pranesh’s father Gopinath Pillai has sought review of the high court’s earlier order transferring the probe in the Ishrat encounter case to the Supreme Court-appointed SIT, probing the 2002 riot cases.

The court today came down heavily on the Union government counsel P.S. Champaneri after he stated that he did not have the name of police officers as asked by the court during the last hearing.

Directing the Union home secretary to suggest three names by September 21, the court observed that it would have been better if the ministry had given names in time.