The metropolitan magistrate's inquiry report says there was no shootout between the four youngsters and the police. The report, released to the media by lawyer Mukul Sinha, says the four people were kidnapped from Mumbai June 12, 2004, and killed in cold blood two days later, victims of extrajudicial killing by law enforcers.

Sinha is the advocate of Shamima, Ishrat's mother, whose petition led the high court to constitute a police team, headed by Additional Director General of Police Pramod Kumar to look into the incident.

The Gujarat government spokesman said magistrate Tamang's inquiry was bad in law for two reasons.

'One, the process of natural justice demands that the accused should be given an opportunity to reply but no such opportunity was given. Secondly, since the high court had constituted a team and gave time to it till November, it was not fair that any other judicial officer also inquired into the case,' Vyas said.

He sought to cite an affidavit of the union ministry of home affairs filed in the Supreme Court to insist that the four people killed in the incident had links with terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Reading out from the affidavit, Vyas said a mouthpiece of LeT, Ghazwa Times had said soon after the encounter that Ishrat Jahan was an activist of the terror outfit.

'It is submitted that the Union of India in 2004 received specific inputs to suggest that LeT was planning to carry out terror atatcks at various places in India, including in Gujarat. The LeT was to carry out assassination of some national and state leaders,' Vyas read from the affidavit that he said was filed Aug 6 this year.

He said Ishrat and Javed, who had converted to Islam after marrying her, were both terrorists and other two persons were Pakistani nationals. Quoting from the home ministry affidavit, Vyas said: 'They entered India with a clear cut focus and mandate to organise terrorist attacks in Gujarat and Maharashtra.'