[1]I hail this verdict as historic. It is for the first time ever that a court has convicted the organizers of a communal riot, people like Babu Bajrangi and Maya Kodnani.
Till now, only the perpetrators and low-level mobilisers were rounded up. This will act as a huge deterrent to Hindu militancy.
In all cases of mass violence, there are five groups of people involved: planners, organizers, ground-level mobilisers, perpetrators and facilitators (police and the general administration who turn a blind eye).
However, a major drawback of the verdict is that it has let the first category, the planners, and the last category, the facilitators, off the hook.
This is not the fault of the court. The investigating agencies have done all they could to protect the planners — people like chief minister Narendra Modi.
They have failed to bring out any evidence against the brains, the behind-the-scenes operators. Similarly, the facilitators, too, have been spared.
The Naroda Patiya carnage began at 8.30pm on February 28, 2002, and it extended up to 5.30am the next day.
Armed Hindu mobs led by Babu Bajrangi and Maya Kodnani went about their murderous task right under the nose of the police.
The police commissioner’s office was not even 100 metres from the scene of the crime but it did nothing to douse the communal hatred. And, in spite of such blatant criminal negligence, no police officer was pulled up.
The verdict can therefore act as a shot in the arm for the corrupt and sycophants among the police officers.
They will now be emboldened to continue working as the hatchet men for their political masters.
However, the verdict will vindicate moderate patriotic Muslims who had always had faith in the secular creed of the country.
They can now point their fingers at Hindu fanatics like Babu Bajrangi and tell fellow Muslims that extremist elements who fan communal hatred will eventually be brought to book. (Former ADGP, intelligence, Gujarat)
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[1] http://archive.asianage.com/r-b-sreekumar-iijpgcropdisplayjpg-417