SIT clean chit to Gujarat ex-DGP in Gulberg case
In what could mean a clean chit to former Gujarat director general of the police P.C. Pande, the Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team (SIT) has told a special court here that there was no evidence of dereliction of duty by the IPS officer during the 2002 riots.
The submission was made on Thursday by the SIT in the court of special judge B.J. Dhandha, hearing the Gulberg society riot case, where 69 persons, including former MP Ehsan Jaffery, were killed on February 28, 2002.
Some of the victims of the Gulberg society riots had filed an application in the court early this month demanding that Mr Pande and three other police officers be made accused in the case on charges of dereliction of duty.
Special public prosecutor R.C. Kodekar made oral submission opposing the application moved by the riot victims, contending that there was no evidence on record against Mr Pande and others, including P.B. Gondia the then DCP Zone IV, S.S. Chudasama, who was ACP (crime branch) in February 2002, and former joint commissioner of police M.K. Tandon (now retired).
Also, out of the over 300 witnesses examined during the trial in the case, none had implicated Mr Pande or others nor was any complaint filed against them, he said.
Mr Kodekar further said that the victims’ application to make Mr Tandon an accused in the case was already rejected by the court last year as the SIT had said that investigation with regard to Mr Tandon was on and a report regarding this was submitted to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court has reserved order on the victim’s application for May 31. —PTI
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