File picture of Amit Shah.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today gave a clean chit to Narendra Modi's close aide Amit Shah in connection with the 2004 Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.In its report, the CBI said it had no evidence against Mr Shah."We knew this was coming. There was absolutely no evidence to associate Amit Shah with Ishrat Jahan case. We knew that the CBI was being continuously misused by the Congress led UPA government," BJP's Nirmala Sitharaman said.But union minister Shashi Tharoor pointed out, "His isn't an exoneration by any court. It is the CBI's professional judgement. The CBI is an independent agency."In March, the court had issued the notice to Mr Shah, former Ahmedabad top cop KR Kaushik and the probe agency CBI in connection with the case.An application filed under section 319 and 193 of CRPC demanded to arraign Mr Kaushik and Amit Shah as accused and hold a trial against them for the criminal conspiracy, illegal confinement and murder of the deceased. CRPC sections 319 and 193 stand for the legal provision to make accused if in the course of court trial substantial evidences appeared against them.The CBI, in its two chargesheets, filed in the case has not made Mr Shah and Mr Kaushik, who was then commissioner of police of Ahmedabad as accused in the case.

Ishrat, a 19-year-old college student, was killed along with three men by Gujarat policemen who claimed they had been told by the Intelligence Bureau that the four were terrorists who planned to assassinate Narendra Modi, the state's chief minister who is now running for Prime Minister.In February, the CBI filed a supplementary charge-sheet in which it accused Rajinder Kumar, a former Gujarat Intelligence Bureau chief, of murder, and three serving intelligence officers of conspiracy.