SIT: No witness against Modi
It was former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri’s widow Zakia Jafri who had moved the Supreme Court seeking an independent investigation into the 2002 Gulberg riots. She had alleged inaction on the part of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in the case following which the SIT was constituted on the orders of the Supreme Court in 2008.
State government sources told this newspaper on Tuesday that the SIT report has said that there was no eyewitness either against Mr Modi or other accused — this includes senior police and state government officials against whom the charge was that they did not take any action while rioters went on a rampage in Gulberg Society.
Absolving the CM and other senior government and police officials, the SIT observes: “Investigations reveal that the chief minister took a series of meetings with senior officials to control the riots, including that in Gulberg Society. The call data records (CDRs) and tower location of important police and government officials reveal that their location was in the field in the riot-affected localtiies.”
During its probe, the SIT also scanned the wireless log records of the police control room to check the movement of the police force. There was no message in the log records indicating that movement of police force should be limited or restricted, the report has said.
As regards amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran’s report, a senior Gujarat intelligence offical said, “In case his report, the SIT can always argue that it has the right to reject it on grounds of weak evidence.” The court has directed that a copy of the SIT report should be provided to Zakia Jafri within a period of 30 days.
The court has not yet decided whether it is satisfied with the investigations conducted by the SIT or wants a fresh probe. Ms Zakia Jafri is expected to file a protest petition in court not to accept the closure report.
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