Naroda Case: Kodnani, Bajrangi Get Life Term

Rejecting the defence theory that the communal violence was a reaction to the Godhra carnage, the court said, "This was a pre-planned conspiracy and it cannot be mitigated just by saying it was a reaction of Godhra train burning incident. Nobody can be allowed to take law into their hands because India is a country that upholds rule of law."
"Communal riots are like cancer on Constitutional secularism and the incident in Naroda Patiya was a black chapter in the history of the Indian Constitution," the Judge observed.

"Acts of communal violence are brutal, inhuman and shameful. It (Naroda) was a clear incident of human rights violation as 97 people were killed brutally within a day which included helpless women, children, aged persons. The climax of this inhuman and brutal act of violence was reflected in murder of an infant, who was 20-day old," the Court noted. 

http://news.outlookindia.com/items.aspx?artid=773756

Naroda Case: Kodnani, Bajrangi Get Life Term

PTI | Ahmedabad | Aug 31, 2012

A Special Court today awarded life imprisonment to BJP MLA Maya Kodnani, Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi and 29 other convicts for the 2002 riots here at Naroda Patiya where 97 people were brutally killed.

The Court named Kodnani, a sitting MLA and former Gujarat Minister, as "a kingpin of riots" in Naroda area and sentenced her to 18-year life imprisonment after serving 10 years jail term under IPC Section 326 (voluntary causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means).

Bajrangi, another high profile accused, will have to spend his entire remaining life behind bars, it said and described communal violence as "cancer".

Seven other convicts were given jail term of 21 years by Additional Principal Judge Jyotsna Yagnik. They will also have to first serve 10-year imprisonment under Section 326.

The remaining 22 convicts were given simple life imprisonment (14 years).

The Court had on Wednesday convicted 32 and acquitted 29 persons in the worst riots case in the aftermath of the Godhra train carnage. It did not pronounce sentence against one accused who is absconding.

"Communal riots are like cancer on Constitutional secularism and the incident in Naroda Patiya was a black chapter in the history of the Indian Constitution," the Judge observed.

"Acts of communal violence are brutal, inhuman and shameful. It (Naroda) was a clear incident of human rights violation as 97 people were killed brutally within a day which included helpless women, children, aged persons. The climax of this inhuman and brutal act of violence was reflected in murder of an infant, who was 20-day old," the Court noted.

The Judge accepted that one victim, who was also a witness, was gang raped, but due to lack of evidence, the court has not charged anybody for that offence.

However, the court directed the Gujarat Government to pay Rs 5 lakh as compensation to the victim.

Rejecting the defence theory that the communal violence was a reaction to the Godhra carnage, the court said, "This was a pre-planned conspiracy and it cannot be mitigated just by saying it was a reaction of Godhra train burning incident. Nobody can be allowed to take law into their hands because India is a country that upholds rule of law."

The Court's inclination was against awarding death penalty in the case.

"Death penalty brings justice and it is desirable to reduce the crime in the society but this court cannot overlook the global trend prevalent in recent years. By 2009, 139 countries had repealed death sentence and there is a global campaign against death penally and progressive societies are advocating for restricting death penalty and this court believes use of death undermines human dignity."

Regarding Kodnani, the court observed that she was the "kingpin of entire riots" that took place in Naroda Patiya area. She led the mob and incited them for violence. She abetted and supported the violent mob, it said.

Kodanai, who was MLA of Naroda at the time of riots, was made Minister of State for Women and Child Development in 2007 in the Narendra Modi Government. She had to resign after she was arrested in the case in March 2009.

The three-time legislator, who was considered close to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, is the first woman to be convicted in a post-Godhra riots case. Kodnani, who was present in the court, broke down after she was sentenced.

The massacre had taken place a day after the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002.

On February 28, 2002, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had called a state-wide bandh to protest against the Godhra train carnage. On that a large crowd gathered in Naroda Patiya area in Ahmedabad and attacked people belonging to minority community, resulting in the death of 97 people and injury to 33 others.

Historic Verdict August 29, 2012 Press Release

With tears of happiness choking them Women Victim Eye witnesses
(Jannatchachi, Shakilabano, Faraznabano, Ishrat Jahan, Zuleikha appa
and Fatima appa offer Shukrana namaz in Ahmedabad. They wil address
a press conference with team of lawyers of Citizens for Justice and Peace
and its Secretary Teesta Setalvad at Prashant at 3 pm today

August 29, 2012

Press Release

Hailing the historic verdict in the Naroda Patiya mass murder case delivered by Judge Jyotsnanbehn Yagnik. Special Sessions Judge in Ahmedabad today by which one senior politician and several conspirators and ring leaders have been convicted, Victim Survivors and CJP welcomed the verdict. In all 32 persons have been convicted including former BJP MLA and minister in the Narendra Modi cabinet, Smt Maya Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi, Bipin Panchal, Ashok Sindhi and Kishan Korani (sitting corporator, accused No 20) have  been convicted. Twenty-nine of the accused were acquitted.

Most of the accused have been charged with Sections 143, 144, 147, 148 with 149, 295, 427, 435, 436, 440, 153, 153a, 153a(ii), 323-326,302, 307 (attempt to murder) read with 149 read with 120(b) and BP Act 135(1). Accused No 22 Suresh Langda Chara has also been convicted under Sections 354 and 376 (sections that deal with rape and gender violence). Quantum of sentence will be pronounced on August 31. Smt Kodnani had been convicted under Sections 295, 427, 435, 436, 440, 153, 153a, 153a(ii), 323, 324, 325, 326, 302, 307, 120-B of the IPC. Babu Bajrangi has been convicted under sections 143, 144, 147, 148 with 149, 295, 427, 435, 436, 440, 153, 153a, 153a(ii), 323,324,325,326, 302, 307 read with 149 read with 120-B.

The raw courage of the victim witnesses, especially women witnesses who deposed fearlessly while still residing in Naroda Patiya is a reflection of the confidence generated after the Supreme Court monitoring and the protection from Central Paramilitary forces provided by the Supreme Court. CJP had applied to the apex court for protection of eye witnesses. CJP through its legal team advocates Altaf Jidran and Raju Shaikh supervised by senior Adv Yusuf Shaikh provided legal aid to about 70 eyewitnesses since 2009. CJP would like to publicly acknowledge their contribution, as also that of senior advocates MM Tirmizi (Gujarat High Court), Mihir Desai (Mumbai) and advocates Kamini Jaiswal (Supreme Court), Sanjay Parikh (Supreme Court), Aparna Bhat (Supreme Court) and Ramesh Pukhrambam (Supreme Court).

Eleven eyewitnesses have deposed in eye witnesses testimonies assigning in detail the role played by Smt Maya Kodnani, in inciting the mob to murder, fifteen witnesses deposed through eye witness testimonies against Babu Bajrangi, 48 witnesses testified to the crimes committed by Suresh @ Langda Chara including the offences of gender violence and rape. (Annexed are the list of witnesses with a brief of their testimonies available on www.cjponline.org). The CJP would like to state that it was the evidence through eye witness testimonies that enabled convictions. Corroborative evidence was provided through the phone call records provided by police officer Rahul Sharma and Tehelka’s Operation Kalank. Without eye witness testimonies whoever convictions could not have taken place.

Victim witnesses supported by CJP had also filed separate applications under Section 319 praying for police officer and then first PI KK Mysorewala to be arraigned as accused along with former Commissioner of Police PC Pandey and SRP official Dhantaniya. While the Judge rejected these applications, she has observed in the victim application for compensation for rape and gender violence that the application would be considered in the final judgement.

Names of accused who have been convicted. Naresh Agarsinh Chara (accused 1); Murlibhai Naranbhai Sindhi (accused 2); Ganpat Chanaji Deedawala (accused 4); Vikrambhai Maneklal Rathod (accused 5); Haresh @ Hariyo S/o Jivanlal @ Agarsinh Rathod (accused 10); Babubhai @ Babu Bajrangi Rajabhai Patel (accused 18), Kishan Khubchand Korani (accused 20); Prakashbhai Sureshbhai Rathod (Chara) (accused  21); Suresh @ Richard @ Langdi Kantibhai Dedawala (Chara) (accused 22); Premchand @ Tiwari Conductor (accused 25); Suresh @ Sehjad Dalubhai (Marathi, Charo) (absconding) (accused 26); Nawab @ Kalu Bhaiyo Harisinh Rathod (accused 27); Manubhai Keshavbhai Maruda (Bhangi) (accused 28); Shashikant @ Tiniyo Marathi Yuvraj Patil (accused 30); Babubhai Jethabhai Salat (accused 33); Lakshmanbhai @ Lakho Budhaji Thakor (accused 34); Dr. Mayaben Surendrabhai Kodnani  (accused 37);  Ashok Hundaldas Sindhi (accused 38); Harshad @ Mungda Govind Chara (Parmar) (accused 39); Mukesh @ Vakil Ratilal Rathod (accused 40); Manojbhai @ Manoj Sinhi Renumal Kukrani (accused 41); Hiraji @ Hero Marwadi @ Sonaji Danaji Medhwan (Marwadi) (accused 42); Bipinbhai @ Bipin autowala Umedray Panchal (accused 44); Ashokbhai Uttamchand Korani (Sindhi) (accused 45); Vijaykumar Takhubhai Parmar (accused 46); Ramesh Keshavlal Dedawala (Chara) (accused 47); Sachin Nagindas Modi (accused 52); Vilas @ Viliyo Prakashbhai Sonar (accused 53); Dinesh @ Tiniyo Govindbhai Barange (Marathi) (accused 55); Santoshkumar Kodumal Mulchandani  (accused 58); Pintu Dalpatbhai Jadeja (Chara) (accused 60); Kirpalsinh Jagbahadursinh Chabda (accused 62).

 Eight charge sheets were filed in this historic case that lasted several months. It was one of the nine cases being supervised by the Supreme Court and was investigated by the SIT.

Amicus Curaiue s Report at Odds with SIT's Closure Report

Citizens for Justice and Peace

April 11, 2012

PRESS RELEASE

The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) expresses its acute disappointment at the intentions of the SIT in filing a complete closure report in the mammoth criminal complaint dated 8.6.2006 filed by Smt Zakia Ahsan Jafri against chief minister Shri Narendra Modi and 61 others. The CJP has assisted the victim survivor and widow of the late Shri Ahsan Jafri and was also co-petitioner in SLP 1088/2008 in the Supreme Court. Though this conclusion by the SIT was not unexpected, given the SIT's postures in the Supreme Court (the Supreme Court had remarked on March 15 2011 "your inferences [to RK Raghavan Chairman] do not match the findings") we had expected the SIT to re examine and revaluate its own interpretations following the Amicus Shri Raju Ramachandran's report. Unfortunately this has not happened and now we will have to battle this closure report through a cogently drafted protest petition relying on voluminous evidence that we are convinced shows prosecutable evidence. It has been widely reported that the independent assessment made by Shri Ramachandran found, contrary to the SIT, that there was evidence to prosecute not just Shri Modi but senior policemen.

The CJP welcomes the decision of the Magistrate’s court to make available to the complainant the SIT report, along with all statements and all evidences including the Amicus Raju Ramachandran report. This is a first step to collating our arguments to contest SIT suggestion to close the investigation.

The CJP would like to take this opportunity to emphasise that while a setback, the SIT closure report by no means signals the end of the legal battle aimed at booking criminal culpability for conspiracy to commit mass murder and subvert evidence in reprisal killings in 19 districts of the state of Gujarat in 2002. Judicial interpretations of the investigating agencies assessment have still to be undertaken and the fact that the Supreme Court posited its own Amicus against the SIT appointed by it suggests some serious points of contestation. The CJP believes that however long and hard, the battle to book criminal culpability for mass crimes in Gujarat in 2002 will eventually be won.

The investigation of political crimes of the magnitude alleged in the complaint dated 8.6.2006 need the skills of a sharp investigator, the understanding of communal violence and its fallout (how it can or can't be controlled) and most of all, exceptional courage and unimpeachable integrity. A vast majority of senior bureaucrats and policemen in India -- comfortable with the record of impunity enjoyed by those in charge as also the political bosses --would like to peddle, the theory that the convulsions of 2002 in Gujarat (that claimed 2,500 innocent lives and included daylight gang rape and murder) were crimes of omission and not commission. While the SIT has bought into this mindset, the fact is that the exemplary evidence supplied by former Director General of Police, Gujarat, RB Sreekumar and DIGP Arms Unit, Rajkot, Gujarat, Rahul Sharma apart from now dismissed police officer Sanjeev Bhatt suggests to the contrary. All this and more will be relied upon by us in the protest petition to be filed by us over the next few months.  

May 10, 2012 Press Release ZAKIA JAFRI CASE

May 10, 2012

Press Release

Complainant and Victim Survivor Zakia Ahsan Jafri assisted by Citizens for Justice and Peace filed a detailed application before the Metropolitan Magistrate MS Bhatt pointing out that crucial documents are missing from the records submitted to her by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on May 7. Hearing on the matter has been fixed for May 19.

The Preliminary Inquiry Report filed by AK Malhotra dated 12.5.2010 and the analysis on it submitted by SIT Chairman RK Raghavan dated 14.5.2010 on the basis of which Amicus Curiae Raju Ramachandran had filed his reports. It is integral for the complaint to have these documents to argue the protest petition and for the Magistrate to have a full sense of the Inquiry and Investigation documents.

Other documents that have been requested because they are missing are IPS officer Rahul Sharma’s CDs submitted before the SIT, Fire Brigade registers, Ashok Narayan then ACS Home s statement made in preparation for the State Assembly on the Godhra tragedy, CRPF and RPF officers statements on Godhra 

Teesta Setalvad, Secretary,  Citizens for Justice and Peace

Other Trustees:
I.M. Kadri                                  Arvind Krishnaswamy                Javed Akhtar
Cyrus Guzder                            Alyque Padamsee                     Anil Dharker
Nandan Maluste                        Javed Anand                              Rahul Bose                   
Cedric Prakash                          Ghulam Pesh Imam

Citizens for Justice and Peace

April 11, 2012

PRESS RELEASE

The Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) expresses its acute disappointment at the intentions of the SIT in filing a complete closure report in the mammoth criminal complaint dated 8.6.2006 filed by Smt Zakia Ahsan Jafri against chief minister Shri Narendra Modi and 61 others. The CJP has assisted the victim survivor and widow of the late Shri Ahsan Jafri and was also co-petitioner in SLP 1088/2008 in the Supreme Court.  Though this conclusion by the SIT was not unexpected, given the SIT's postures in the Supreme Court (the Supreme Court had remarked on March 15 2011 "your inferences [to RK Raghavan Chairman] do not match the findings") we had expected the SIT to re examine and revaluate its own interpretations following the Amicus Shri Raju Ramachandran's report. Unfortunately this has not happened and now we will have to battle this closure report through a cogently drafted protest petition relying on voluminous evidence that we are convinced shows prosecutable evidence. It has been widely reported that the independent assessment made by Shri Ramachandran found, contrary to the SIT, that there was evidence to prosecute not just Shri Modi but senior policemen.

The CJP welcomes the decision of the Magistrate’s court to make available to the complainant the SIT report, along with all statements and all evidences including the Amicus Raju Ramachandran report. This is a first step to collating our arguments to contest SIT suggestion to close the investigation.

The CJP would like to take this opportunity to emphasise that while a setback, the SIT closure report by no means signals the end of the legal battle aimed at booking criminal culpability for conspiracy to commit mass murder and subvert evidence in reprisal killings in 19 districts of the state of Gujarat in 2002. Judicial interpretations of the investigating agencies assessment have still to be undertaken and the fact that the Supreme Court posited its own Amicus against the SIT appointed by it suggests some serious points of contestation. The CJP believes that however long and hard, the battle to book criminal culpability for mass crimes in Gujarat in 2002 will eventually be won.

The investigation of political crimes of the magnitude alleged in the complaint dated 8.6.2006 need the skills of a sharp investigator, the understanding of communal violence and its fallout (how it can or can't be controlled) and most of all, exceptional courage and unimpeachable integrity. A vast majority of senior bureaucrats and policemen in India -- comfortable with the record of impunity enjoyed by those in charge as also the political bosses --would like to peddle, the theory that the convulsions of 2002 in Gujarat (that claimed 2,500 innocent lives and included daylight gang rape and murder) were crimes of omission and not commission. While the SIT has bought into this mindset, the fact is that the exemplary evidence supplied by former Director General of Police, Gujarat, RB Sreekumar and DIGP Arms Unit, Rajkot, Gujarat, Rahul Sharma apart from now dismissed police officer Sanjeev Bhatt suggests to the contrary. All this and more will be relied upon by us in the protest petition to be filed by us over the next few months.  

The unique complaint filed by Smt Zakia Jafri outlines evidence of the chief minister masterminding a criminal conspiracy by first allowing the bodies of the victims of the Godhra tragedy being handed to VHP general secretary Jaideep Patel, parading these in a blatant fashion, making inflammatory statements, not giving command instructions to the army (who was patrolling the streets) to proactively intervene; of not only holding a meeting where senior police officers and administrators were told not to perform their lawful and constitutional duties, but following this up with the posting of two ministers in the Gujarat state and Ahmedabad control rooms to ensure help did not reach hapless victims of reprisal killings in 19 farflung districts of the state. Following this the subversion of justice

(false truncated FIRs, saving formerly named accused etc) and defying constitutional bodies was equally serious; destroying and concealing evidence and appointing public prosecutors sympathetic to the ideology of the rioting accused, not following the NHRC and Supreme Court orders are some others. State Intelligence reports given to the chief executive of the state by then ACS Home Ashok Narayan were deliberately ignored by him as were those by former ADGP RB Sreekumar. Officers like Sreekumar and others who followed the law were penalised and those who broke the law were rewarded. For the past decade the chief minister has also held the cabinet portfolio for law and order (home).

Charges against the chief executive of the state in the complaint relate to actively planning a criminal conspiracy [Conspiracy and abetment to commit multiple offences of murder (Section 120-B, 114 r/w 302 IPC)], Furnishing false information (Section 177 IPC), Disobeying law with intent to cause injury to any person (Section 166 IPC), False statement as evidence (Section 199 IPC), Giving false information about offences committed (Section 203 IPC), Injuring and defiling place of worship (Section 295 IPC), Outraging religious belief (Section 295-A IPC), Criminal intimidation (Section 506 IPC), Obstructing public servant in discharge of duties (Section 186 IPC), Promoting enmity between peoples on grounds of religion (Section 153-A IPC), Omission to assist public servant (Section 187 IPC), Uttering words to wound religious feelings (Section 298 IPC).

The CJP would also like to point out that until 2009 when on its petition before the Supreme Court, the SIT was first appointed, key accused in the complaint PC Pandey DGP Chakravarty, then cabinet minister  IK Jadeja, then minister Maya Kodnani, VHP general secretary Jaideep Patel, police officers  KK Mysorewala, MK Tandon and PB Gondia and VHP/Bajrang Dal member Babu Bajrangi had not been made accused in the pending trials related to the Gulberg and Naroda Patiya incidents. Today, among those mentioned above Kodnani, Jaideep Patel, Erda, and Bajrangi are accused in the two ongoing trials.

The Smt Zakia Ahsan Jafri complaint pertains to the wider conspiracy in 19 of Gujarat's 25 districts and is not related just to the Gulberg trial as is being reported in sections of the media. Details of this battle can be accessed at www.cjponline.org and www.gujarat-riots.com

The CJP would like to list below some key articles that have appeared over the last two years that give a comprehensive picture of this intense, unique and complicated struggle.

Teesta Setalvad

Secretary

Other Trustees

I.M. Kadri                                Arvind Krishnaswamy                       Javed Akhtar

Cyrus Guzder                         Alyque Padamsee                            Anil Dharker

Nandan Maluste                    Javed Anand                                     Rahul Bose               

Cedric Prakash                     Ghulam Pesh Imam

Media Landmarks

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2563188.ece?homepage=true

Amicus report lays the ground for chargesheeting Narendra Modi

New Delhi, October 23, 2011

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/another-cop-questions-modis-role-in-2002-riots/156956-3.html

India

2002 riots: Another police officer blames Modi

Jun 06, 2011 at 08:58am IST

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/told-modi-gulberg-attack-was-coming-he-kep/791828/

The Indian EXPRESS, Ahmedabad: 17-05-11, Daily Eng. News

“Told Modi Gulbarg attack was coming, he kept mum”

 IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt deposes before Nanavati-Mehta Commission, says he also attended two other meetings CM held on Feb 28, 2002

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Destroyed-Guj-riots-records-suddenly-resurface/articleshow/8062059.cms

'Destroyed' Guj riots records suddenly resurface

Apr 23, 2011

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/7767387.cms

TOI, Mar 23, 2011

SIT cuts short key testimony against Narendra Modi

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=MIRRORNEW&BaseHref=AMIR/2011/03/23&PageLabel=8&EntityId=Ar00802&ViewMode=HTML

Gujarat EDN

23MAR2011, AM

Gulbarg case: SIT continues questioning Sanjeev Bhatt

http://www.hindu.com/2011/03/16/stories/2011031665331500.htm

THE HINDU

16MAR2011

Your inferences don't match SIT report, court tells Raghavan

http://www.tehelka.com/story_main48.asp?filename=Ne120211coverstory2.asp

From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 8, Issue 6, Dated February 12, 2011

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE GODHRA SIT REPORT

The Artful Faker

www.tehelka.com/story_main48.asp?filename=Ne120211coverstory.asp

From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 8, Issue 6, Dated February 12, 2011

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE GODHRA SIT REPORT

Here’s the smoking gun. So how come the SIT is looking the other way?

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Friend-of-court-says-Modi-not-in-the-clear-yet/Article1-810211.aspx

Friend of court says Modi not in the clear yet

Hindustan Times

New Delhi, February 12, 2012

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=CAP/2011/02/11&PageLabel=12&EntityId=Ar01200&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

DELHI EDN 11FEB2011 TIMES OF INDIA

Gujarat top cop may be paying for his ‘initiative’

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/After-SIT-will-FIR-be-filed-against-Modi/articleshow/5733451.cms

TOI, 28 March 2010

After SIT, will FIR be filed against Modi?

http://www.sabrang.com/cc/archive/2009/may09/cover1.html

THE ACCUSED

Modi and 61 others face investigation for mass murder

http://www.sabrang.com/cc/archive/2009/may09/cover2.html

Villain of the piece    Accused No 1

Accused number one: Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat

SIT clean chit is wrong. DGP told me Modi said let Muslims die.

 

This is simply not true. As far back as 2004, I had formally written to a judicial commission that investigated the killings of Muslims, disclosing that the then DGP Chakravarthy had told me that at the meeting at his home on the night of February 27, 2002, Modi instructed the police officers to allow the Hindus to kill Muslims.

To validate my testimony, I offered to undergo a narco-analysis test or the brain fingerprinting test or the polygraph test anywhere in India. But neither the SIT nor the Nanavati Commission took action on my information. Perhaps because then they would have had to also run the tests on the police officers who attended Modi’s meeting that night, and that would without doubt have incriminated Modi.

-R. B. Sreekumar, Former DGP, Gujarat 

SIT clean chit is wrong. DGP told me Modi said let Muslims die.

By R. B. Sreekumar, Former DGP, Gujarat4/17/12

On April 11, a metropolitan magistrate in Ahmedabad disclosed that a Special Investigative Team (SIT) set up by the Supreme Court has found no evidence that on the night before the anti-Muslim violence began in Gujarat on February 28, 2002, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi told his top police brass they should not stop Hindu mobs from killing Muslims. Modi’s supporters welcomed the magisterial pronouncement as a vindication of their long-held view on Modi’s innocence.

The allegation against Modi relates to a meeting he held with then Gujarat Director-General of Police, K. Chakravarthy, and other top police officers at his official residence in Gandhinagar on the night of February 27, 2002. As we know, earlier that morning, 59 people were burnt to death after two coaches of Sabarmati Express caught fire near Godhra railway station in an area adjacent to a Muslim locality.

Many among those who died in the train fire were kar sevaks, or volunteers, of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) coming back from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh where they had participated in a VHP event around its campaign to build a Ram temple. Within hours of the fire, the VHP called a state-wide protest the next day, February 28. Modi called that night’s meeting to discuss the law and order preparation.

Headed by former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director R. K. Raghavan, the SIT spoke to the various police officers who were present at Modi’s meeting that night to investigate the charge. It was widely reported in the news that the SIT based its conclusion that Modi did not tell his police officers to allow the VHP mobs to kill Muslims on denials from the police officers who attended Modi’s meeting. Then DGP Chakravarthy, too, reportedly told the SIT that the allegations are false and that Modi did not order the police to stand by while the Muslims are killed.

This is simply not true. As far back as 2004, I had formally written to a judicial commission that investigated the killings of Muslims, disclosing that the then DGP Chakravarthy had told me that at the meeting at his home on the night of February 27, 2002, Modi instructed the police officers to allow the Hindus to kill Muslims.

Here are the facts of the case.

As an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Gujarat cadre, I was posted as Additional Director-General of Police (Intelligence) with the State Intelligence Branch (SIB) from April 9, 2002 to September 18, 2002. During my tenure, I sent numerous reports to the DGP and to the state government about the culpability of the Sangh Parivar – the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates – in the (1) Genocide of Muslims, (2) Subversion of the criminal justice system, and (3) denial and delay of the justice delivery system to the survivors of the violence.

The Central Election Commission postponed the 2002 assembly elections on the basis of my letter to that detailed the extent and intensity of the violence. Its order of August 16, 2002 acknowledged this. Further, I submitted nine affidavits running into 660 pages to the Justice Nanavati Commission that probed the violence. Four affidavits were submitted while I was still serving and five after I retired in February 2007. The state government never challenged the contents of those affidavits. I provided the copies of those affidavits to Mr. Raghavan’s SIT, too.

In my fourth affidavit submitted to the Nanavati Commission in September 2004, I narrated the revelation DGP Chakravarthy made to me about Modi’s meeting with senior officers on February 27, 2002, at his residence in Gandhinagar, the state capital. Chakravarthy informed me that at the meeting, the chief minister directed the officers that the revengefulness of the Hindus, aggrieved by the Godhra train fire, should be given a free play and the police should not act against the Hindus.

To validate my testimony, I offered to undergo a narco-analysis test or the brain fingerprinting test or the polygraph test anywhere in India. But neither the SIT nor the Nanavati Commission took action on my information. Perhaps because then they would have had to also run the tests on the police officers who attended Modi’s meeting that night, and that would without doubt have incriminated Modi.

Earlier, my third affidavit had given verbatim details of the Home Department’s attempt in August 2002 to tutor me to support the government in my cross examination at the Nanavati Commission. I also submitted to the Commission and the SIT the audiotapes of the tutoring session. But they did not initiate action against the officials who attempted to intimidate me into committing perjury, acts punishable under Sections 193, 509 and 153(a) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

I also submitted to SIT a copy of the register that I had maintained in which I had meticulously written down all the illegal verbal orders that various authorities, from the chief minister to the DGP, had given to me with the objective of preventing me from revealing the truth to the Nanavati Commission and also to force me to illegally send false reports, tap phones and organise fake encounters of Muslims.

The Home Department and the DGP committed a culpable offence under Section 166 of the IPC by failing to initiate remedial measures on my intelligence assessment reports, which led to the denial of justice to the victims of the 2002 violence. It must be said that the Supreme Court has passed many remarks on the illegal role of the Modi government in the many cases related to the anti-Muslim violence of 2002.

In April 2004, the Supreme Court said the Gujarat Administration had acted as Emperor Nero during the violence, working to save the culprits of the killing of the innocent people. Later, the Supreme Court ordered a reinvestigation into some 2,000 cases that the Gujarat Police had illegally closed. It transferred the trials of two cases outside Maharashtra (both of which led to the conviction of the accused), and entrusted one riot case investigation to the CBI.

The Supreme Court constituted the SIT to reinvestigate nine major case of the violence. This included the case brought against Modi and 62 others by Zakia Jafri, the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who a mob burnt to death with three dozen others in his house. Last month, Supreme Court Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Desai entrusted retired Supreme Court judge H. S. Bedi with a full inquiry into the fake encounter cases of Gujarat. Had the Gujarat Government acted on my intelligence assessment reports and initiated remedial measures the higher judiciary would not have needed to pass such strictures at this stage.

The SIT also did not act on my many suggestions.

I had suggested that the SIT should record the statements of Uttar Pradesh policemen accompanying the kar sevaks who were killed in the train fire. But the SIT did not do so perhaps because such testimonies would have upset the conspiracy theories Modi and then Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani floated on February 27 about the Muslims’ involvement in the Godhra fire. Even the case papers of the Godhra incident do not indicate any evidence that early.

I had also suggested that officials of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), and Central paramilitary forces and the Indian Army be questioned as they had a lot of information on the violence and the nature and quality of the response of the state police to distress calls from the violence-affected. Lastly, I had suggested that the SIT probe the misuse of government funds for undermining public lawsuits.

On the whole, the SIT travelled on the road map given to it by the Gujarat government in investigating the 2002 anti-Muslim violence cases and Zakia Jafri’s complaint against Modi and 62 others. Consequently, the SIT practically became a ‘B’ team of Gujarat Police cleverly building a defence for Modi and his collaborators in planning and executing the massacre of Muslims in 2002 and their extensive subversion of the criminal justice system.

That is why the victims were not surprised with the SIT’s closure report on Zakia Jafri’s complaint. From the beginning, the SIT was solely dependent on Gujarat Police in its investigations of the cases before it. SIT chief Raghavan did not care to verify the statements of the complainants, leave alone those of the witnesses.

Let us remember that the SIT arrested only two police inspectors for the Gujarat killings. It kept the complicity levels of police officers and executive magistrates as low as possible, so that the senior officers and political leaders – from the Deputy Superintendents of Police to the chief minister – were immune from prosecution.

In view of the SIT’s partisan line, I propose that a team of criminal lawyers and seasoned police officers should examine its closure report and analyse its mechanics of appreciation of the evidence. Such a team should also critically study the merit of the evidence the SIT presented to the magistrate and thereafter give an independent opinion. The civil society should wide circulate and discuss this expert opinion so that the common citizens are made aware of the bias in the SIT report.

http://www.newzfirst.com/web/guest/full-story/-/asset_publisher/Qd8l/content/sit-clean-chit-is-wrong-dgp-told-me-modi-said-let-muslims-die?redirect=%2Fweb%2Fguest%2Fhome

http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?pgNo=1&edcode=1310005&eddate=2012-4-27
Gujarat EDN
DNA 27APR2012

Witnesses want convicts to be tried for conspiracyThey claim the massacre was pre-planned to kill members of the minority communityl Sardarpura riot case
DNA Correspondent | Ahmedabad
Witnesses of Sardarpura massacre case have demanded sentencing of convicts in the case under charges of conspiracy. Talking to media persons on Thursday, the witnesses alleged that it was a pre-planned conspiracy to kill people of the minority community in Sardarpura village in Mehsana district. 

Gulam Ali, one of the witnesses, claimed that on the eve of February 27, 2002, while working near Jain temple, he had heard two accused, Maganlal and Becharbhai, passing a remark that they would kill Muslims.

Another witness, Bashirabibi Shaikh, claimed that when she had gone to the shop of one Dahyabhai, he allegedly told her that she would be killed. Other witnesses also claimed that the streets lights of Sheikh Mohalla, where the massacre happened, were repaired and switched on a day before the incident. 

Teesta Setalvad of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), an NGO fighting for communal riots, said, "We have moved a petition challenging the verdict of the Sardarpura riots in which the lower court has not upheld the theory of conspiracy." 

She further said, "There are many witnesses who came on record and gave statements and testimony in the court that established the fact that the killing at Sheikh Mohalla was pre-planned. The SIT will establish the theory of conspiracy in the appeal filed before the HC." 

The petition before the HC cited statements of many witnesses. Sabirmiya Akhumiya Pathan, one of the witnesses, stated that Haresh Bhatt, a leader of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, had come to the village and held a meeting at Mahadev Temple (the place from where the crowd came on the night of the event). "A meeting of Patel youth was held where Bhatt gave an instigating lecture," Pathan said. 

In November last year, the designated court had awarded life imprisonment to 31 accused while acquitting 42.


http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIA/2012/04/27&PageLabel=5&EntityId=Ar00501&ViewMode=HTML
Gujarat EDN
TOI 27APR2012

Sardarpura massacre case witness alleges boycott TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Ahmedabad: A Hindu witness in Sardarpura massacre case has complained that villagers have boycotted him and even targeted him for speaking against the rioters. 
    During a media briefing on Thursday, Mangabhai Raval said he testified against the rioters and many of those whom he had named were convicted. Raval said he was running a tea stall, but people stopped coming to his shop and he had to close it. 
    “Before I was to depose, they told me not to speak against them. After conviction, they pressurized me to leave the place. There are systematic efforts on part of the authorities for eviction,” he said. He has filed a complaint before the higher authorities in this regard. 
    Other witnesses of the case claimed that they had cited specific instances that showed that there was a conspiracy behind the attack in which 33 persons were killed on March 1, 2002. The special court refused to believe that it was a conspiracy and held that the attack was a spontaneous reaction of Godhra carnage. 
    Social activist Teesta Setalvad said the witnesses have appealed against the trial court’s decision that it was not a conspiracy though the SIT and state government do not press hard on this aspect. The Gujarat high court is likely to hear the appeals on Friday for admission.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/nation/60817-witnesses-to-insist-on-conspiracy-angle.html
Witnesses to insist on conspiracy angle
Thursday, 26 April 2012 23:55
Rathin Das | Ahmedabad
Survivors and witnesses of the Sardarpura massacre, for which 31 people have been sentenced to life imprisonment, have decided to insist on the charges of conspiracy against the convicted.
During the retaliatory riots following the killing of 58 kar sewaks in the Sabarmati Express fire at Godhra on February 27, 2002, violent mobs had burnt 33 people to death at Sardarpura in Mehsana district of north Gujarat.
A Special Court had last year sentenced 31 convicted to life imprisonment on charges of murder, arson and rioting while 31 others were acquitted due to benefit of doubt.
While an appeal challenging the Special Court order has been filed in the High Court, the witnesses have said that the charges of pre-planned conspiracy too should be pressed against the convicts.
At a Press conference organised by the Mumbai-based Citizens for Justice and Peace, several eyewitnesses narrated their experiences to prove that the violence against the community was very much pre-planned.
Shabir Miyan Pathan, the then borewell pump operator of the village, said that Bajrang Dal leader Haresh Bhatt had come to the village few days earlier and distributed ‘trishuls’ after holding a meeting at the temple.
The Sarpanch of the village, a Patel, too took away the keys of the borewell from him the day prior to the riots, Shabir Miyan said.
One widow, Basheera Biwi said the Patel owner of the shop took away the accounts book her husband used to handle and the groceries shop keeper commented “What to do with these, you people wouldn’t live to see tomorrow”.
Various incidents put together indicate a well-planned conspiracy, pointed out advocate Yusuf Sheikh. which the Special Court in Mehsana has not taken note of,
The lone Hindu witness in the massacre case, Mangabhai Rambhai narrated that a tractor with containers full of kerosene and petrol were brought by the Patels who have since boycotted his shop for deposing in this case.
Another witness Iqbal Miyan Sheikh alleged that the then BJP MLA from Unjha, Narainbhai had said, “It is our Government, we can do anything we want.”
All these Similarly, in the Ode massacre too, in which appeal has not yet been filed in the High Court, there are tell-tale evidences of a pre-planned conspiracy said the lawyers of the Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP).

Are they drowned in Modi’s magnetism? Is this worship exigency? Anil

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?280343

An Aarti From Time, A Brookings Chalisa

Are they drowned in Modi’s magnetism? Is this worship exigency?

Anil Dharker , Cyrus Guzder , Nandan Maluste , Teesta Setalvad

arendra Modi is no doubt a successful politician. There is almost a special kind of luck that accompanies him in the public domain, luck that can be explained in two decisive electoral victories and the attraction that follows such success. He is constantly in the news and a set of those who fear and adulate the man suggest that the more the institutions of justice berate him, the more his TRP soars. News constantly props up the picture of a decisive chief minister. Last week, Time had him on the cover and Brookings Institution had a favourable report on him. There is a curious timing behind these reports. They hint that he is prime ministerial material and that a realistic sense of politics demands that one engage with the emerging Indian future.

One can match statistics with statistics to show that Modi’s achievement is exaggerated, that other states have done well or that GNP and GDP could take contrary turns in Gujarat. One can say, for instance, that in the five years between 2004-05 and 2009-10, Gujarat’s per capita income nearly doubled from Rs 32,021 to Rs 63,961. In the same period, neighbouring Maharashtra, the perceived laggard, saw its per capita income grow from Rs 35,915 to Rs 74,027. Several states besides Gujarat have shown double digit growth in their GDP in recent years, and Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have bigger economies. Gujarat now runs a revenue deficit—it spends more than it earns—and its surplus has disappeared. Several other states have improved their fiscal positions meanwhile. Reforms? Five states passed the Fiscal Responsibility Bill before Gujarat did in 2005, and 20 states preceded Gujarat in implementing VAT. Surplus power? Facts on the ground and increasing protests show this to be an exaggerated claim. Human development indicators? Gujarat lags behind in access to primary and higher education, is high on the percentage of population prone to hunger and starvation, access to fiscal credit among the marginalised is low, girl child schooling shows poor figures. State and central government figures support all this.

We think there is also a different way of responding—by asking what is the criteria for decency and well-being? One has to go to the structural roots of the argument, move beyond a gasping portrait of Modi already basking in a future at Lutyens’ Delhi. Time magazine’s two-page picture of Modi on the lawns is suggestive of that. It is as if the props are there, the script is also there, the players are waiting, and all one needs is an auspicious time. The Brookings essay on Modi goes one better and writes him a certificate of good conduct that would help revoke the ban on his US visa. For Brookings, banning a future prime minister would be bad politics.

Why the unholy haste by the brookings institution and time to glamourise a glamour-hungry modi who could well face charges of mass murder?

Time cites a social scientist in a preemptive act, a jumping of the gun proclaiming a once and future king before the democratic and legal process is over. Indian courts are yet to assess whether the evidence collected by investigators and assessed by the amicus curiae appointed by the Supreme Court can make out a case to prosecute Modi, his cabinet colleagues, ideologues, administrators and policemen. The charges are criminal culpability to conspire to commit mass murder, subvert the justice process and destroy critical evidence and records. Why then, we may ask, the unholy haste by Time magazine and the Brookings Institution when courts are seized of the matter, Modi could (or may not) be charge-sheeted for criminal offences, when general elections are nearly two years away?

The analysis presented states that Muslims are voting for Modi as the Congress is too weak to do anything for them. The question one has to ask is: Is such a lazy social science enough? Which section of Muslims is voting for Modi? Two, is a vote for Modi a legitimation of Modi or is it a shotgun wedding of a community that is desperate to survive and see that its people still wrongfully locked in jail are released?

Anyone who watched the Sadbhavna festival would realise that the Muslims who came were paying court to a king. There was no rapprochement, no forgiveness. If anything, the ritual expressed its distance from Muslim life. The Sadbhavna yatra was more a power game like ancient times where people swore fealty to the lord. The state government, in the ultimate display of control, has refused activists access to accounts of the public monies spent on an autocratic chief minister’s personal agenda.

One has to read the metaphors of the Time report. Modi is presented as wearing the white of a penitent embarking on fasts. The writer, Jyoti Thottam, suggests it’s an act of purification,
humility and bridge-building. To read Modi’s Sadbhavna fasts in this way insults the idea of fast as a moral weapon and confuses it for a strategic tool. White, anyway, is the most hypocritical colour of politicians. The question one has to ask before one uses words like humility and purity is: What is the moral nature of the act?

But Modi should not be seen only a personality. He is a Rorschach inkblot set before society, provoking basic questions. Modi, in terms of civic indicators like investment, rule of law and governance is scoring high. These statistics have been rigorously contested in the public domain, by the Gujarati media, by the opposition, even the state government’s own figures. And what about the CAG reports on Sufalam Sujalam project, the Kutch melas and the public disinvestment scams? A dispassionate assessment exposes the Modi makeover for the brazen public relations job it was meant to be.

The question that needs asking is whether modi fits into a vision of a society where the minorities have a place, where dissent has a place.

And then how does one look at and talk about his institution-building? He has refused to allow the Lokayukta to function freely. He has silenced the bureaucracy with threats, incentives of plum posts, juicy extensions that let senior bureaucrats retain power and visibility. His privatisation of medicine has to be independently assessed in terms of ethics, care, cost and well-being. Ahmedabad, home to at least four universities and some of the finest institutes, still cannot produce a critical debate on him, as many institutes have quietly imposed a gag order on dissenting intellectuals. The Congress, though weak as an opposition, has highlighted a major issue. Land is being bequeathed to major corporations like Tatas and Adanis on easy terms, transforming public lands into private goods. At the Gujarati taxpayer’s expense.

The Brookings narrative adds a second halo to Modi. It converts him tacitly from a politician to a statesman receiving courses on climate change and even writing a book on it. Behind both essays is an even more tacit semiotics. It is what we must call the Americanisation of Modi. It creates a political palatability to his reception abroad. Leave aside the American’s love of the Asian dictator with a keen and ready investment plan, there is first the Horatio Alger syndrome, portraying him as a self-made man, as a protestant ascetic, a journey Time portrays in the from-smalltown-boy-to-CEO-of-Gujarat, succeeding without family connections or fancy education. He seems very different from the young Congress elite, with their pampered backgrounds. Unlike other Indians, he keeps his family at a distance. There is no family coterie hanging around him, unlike around Laloo Prasad Yadav or Karunanidhi or Yediyurappa. The Brookings report then steps in by showing Modi to be a keen student of American politics, wondering whether Indian states can have the sort of freedom states in the United States do. He is entrepreneurly, eco-friendly, and all in all, a global man awaiting his time, open to World Bank reforms and yet a home-grown nationalist. Modi is also presented not just as prime ministerial material but as the Indian answer to China, a note that will play deep into the American and Indian psyche, presenting them a streamlined politician for the future.

The question one is asking is not whether Modi is a future prime minister. The logic of Indian electoral politics will answer that. The question is: Where does Modi fit into a vision of decent society in which the minorities and those in the margins have a place, in which dissent has a place? Is Modi’s future a participative future and a pluralistic one? His technocratic credentials are not in doubt, but his vision of democracy needs to be examined. Oddly, Modi might fail by the norms set by his own hero, Swami Vivekananda. Modi has failed to provide a civilisational answer to the crisis of Gujarat. Investment and development, even with the distorted statistics bandied around, are poor substitutes for such a vision. In Americanising him, the reports reveal the modernist flaw deep within his programme.

---

(The authors are trustees of Citizens for Justice and Peace)

Insaf Ki Dagar Par (On the Path of Justice)

by Dr Bindu Desai

Insaf Ki Dagar Par (On the Path of Justice)

Recalling the pogrom in Gujarat, February 2012

February 27^th marked the tenth anniversary of the horrific events that followed the terrible fire in a train compartment near Godhra. The fire resulted in the tragic death of 59 ‘kar sevaks’, more than 100 were injured. They were returning from Ayodhya as part of a campaign to build a temple dedicated to Ram on the site where previously a Masjid had existed. In the next few days and weeks Gujarat witnessed carnage where thousands of individuals, mainly Muslim, were murdered, raped, looted, displaced, their homes ransacked, livelihood destroyed.

A number of organizations planned a Memorial for February 27^th in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Lucknow, Malegaon, Aligarh, Calicut, Delhi and Ayodhya-Faizabad. Teesta Setalvad asked me if I would attend the one at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad, where 68 people were murdered, their bodies allowed to smoulder for days. 28 are still listed as ‘missing’. I felt it a privilege to be part of such a memorial service. So come February 27^th morning I left for Ahmedabad by the Shatabdi Express. Approaching the road on which Gulberg Society is located I could see the building from afar. I got down at a gate which was guarded by two policemen; they directed me to the main gate where some 30 policemen, a few with automatic weapons guns, stood by. A thought flashed through me: if only they had been there a decade ago and done their duty Gulberg Society would be peopled and full of life.

The society is L shaped. At the short arm of the L is a small bungalow. The long arm has a central path with many cottages on either side and two high rises of 3 stories. The central path was filled with people; many had come from villages affected by the pogrom. Their presence made the place appear less sinister. There were children whose energy was a refreshing balm to the somber reality of empty buildings, shattered windows and walls with burn marks.

Teesta was busy arranging events; I waved to her and embraced her. “Kem Che Deekra” I asked? She guided me to tables where I could leave my travel bag. I was keen to change into a sari, as I had worn a pair of slacks and a kurta for the train journey. I had a sari with me and had earlier inquired if I could change into it at the site. A Sayra Sandhi led me to the only room that afforded a bit of privacy. The police made way for us; one even carried my overnight case to the verandah. So helpful today when 10 years ago several of their colleagues had led the 20,000 strong mob into Gulberg and watched idly while acts of infamy were carried out, ah, police obey orders do they not? Sayra was dressed in a Gujrati style sari. As I introduced myself and told her I was a friend of Teesta’s, she said matter of factly:”Teestaben works very hard for us. My son died here”. Later I learnt that her brother-in-law, her sister-in-law, her niece were among those murdered.

The presence of loss was everywhere; neither the bright shining sun nor the exuberant bougainvillea could overcome this feeling. I sat in the shade and tried to absorb the reality of the place. No photograph captures the enduring sadness; the sheer inability to accept that in such a solid, pleasant airy place on a bustling road of a great city, scores of people could be burnt alive. My mind refused to accept that this could happen, and yet it did. Highly inflammable chemicals were used, the killing preplanned with precision. I looked up at shattered windows, empty doorways and overgrown grass.

There being numerous events recalling the carnage making for a long day, the organizers had provided everything one would need for the long day: Cold water jugs every 30 to 50 feet, bottles of water, endless cups of tea. The families of some survivors had cooked fresh snacks and sweets for those who had come to share their sorrow. Later in the evening 4 rounds of “dhoop” were carried through the grounds to ward off mosquitoes and insects. There were quite a lot of persons from the media, press and TV.

A statement was issued by Retired Mumbai High Court Judge Hosbet Suresh who had been one of 8 distinguished jurists, academics and activists forming the Concerned Citizen’s Tribunal that had investigated the Gujarat carnage in 2002. Teesta introduced me to the Justice. Clad in a Khadi kurta-pyjama one could not help being impressed by his down to earth-ness and transparent simplicity. He had spent 2 weeks in Gujarat for the Tribunal and felt that there could be no moving on till the wheels of Justice brought those responsible for these crimes to answer for their horrific deeds.

I was pleasantly surprised to meet Valjibhai Patel, a respected Dalit leader who I had met 2 decades ago. He told me that generally in a conflagration against Muslims he was able to save lives, here he said he was not able to, the police themselves had encouraged the mobs. He recounted the courage and bravery of a Dalit Someshwar Pandya who had managed to save 100 of 133 in Sardarpura and who was later beaten by BJP goons and lost an eye. Valjibhai was critical of the media which he characterized as irresponsible, at times publishing outright untruths. Taking action against the media is a tortuous process requiring a Police Inspector to agree that lies have been published, he explained. A Police Inspector, who agreed and moved the Government to take action, was transferred, the replacement said there was no case worth pursuing and the matter was dropped. Valjibhai looked fit and full of zest to continue his lifelong pursuit of justice and fairness for those marginalized and oppressed.

I met Trupti Shah and Rohit Prajapati, activists from Vadodara who had been involved in seeking justice for the many victims of this pogrom in their home city. Mallika Sarabhai came to affirm her solidarity with the victims. I went around the society and was shaken by what I saw. On a wall hung photographs of those killed, to name a few: Azar Dara Modi, whose family was at the site today, and who would have been 24 this year and upon whom the film Parzania is based; Ehsan Jafri, a former MP who was murdered most brutally whose widow, son and daughter were there; photos of Sayra’s family Mohammedhusen Salimbhai Sandhi, Jahangirbhai Noormohammed Sandhi. What tore at one’s heart was their faces, full of hope for what life might hold for them, hardest to bear with were those of children and babies….There were blanks for those missing or those whose family did not possess a photo of their loved one.

The building where Ehsan Jafri lived was visited by many to pay homage to the scores who perished in it. They had come seeking shelter and thinking his previous high office, as he was a former Member of Parliament, might offer protection. Nearby a toran fluttered with rectangular strips of paper on which people had written what they wished for, most wished for justice.

Close relatives addressed those present, among them Dara and Rupa Modi. It was difficult to hold back tears as individuals recounted how neighbours had turned against them. The afternoon sun gradually sank below the horizon. Suresh Mehta, former BJP Chief Minister came , saying it was his duty to come. A decade ago emotions had been allowed to rule, what had happened was wrong , he went on. I was honoured to meet R B Sreekumar, former Director General of Police(DGP) and at the time of the massacres Additional(Addl) DGP Intelligence Branch(IB). He has testified in detail, over 1000 pages he told me, of how the Modi government colluded in and encouraged the long reign of terror unleashed upon the Muslims of Gujarat. To meet Sreekumar was to meet a genuine hero. A man of dignity, forthright and taking his duties seriously, he invited the ire of the Chief Minister (CM) of Gujarat Narendra Modi. Sreekumar was transferred from Addl DGP IB to Police Reform, where as our police are so conscientious there was not much for him to do! Deprived of his pension on retirement he took the Gujarat Government to court and won his pension and his promotion to DGP. Sreekumar, very simply said his loyalty was to the Government of India and to the office of the Chief Minister, not to the person who happened to be CM. He felt those IAS and IPS officers who surround Modi nowadays are so afraid of him that they indulge in ‘anticipatory sycophancy’! How glad one is that Sreekumar is as upright as he is, how much better India would be if there were countless officials like him. His wife Rajlakshmi who sat next to him was unassuming and when I asked how she managed when they had no pension for 2 years, she smiled and said ‘I have to support Sreekumar; Teesta helped us with getting good lawyers to fight our case’.

Dusk saw the arrangements being made for Shubha Mudgal’s concert. I thought I should have a small snack as I expected to be at Gulberg till late at night and went to see where they were being distributed. I could not find the table and decided I would do without it. After a few minutes I saw a gentleman approach the empty chair near me with a plate of snacks in his hand. I asked him where he had got it. He replied “I’ll get you a plate if you hold this magazine for me.” I did so, he returned and sat on the chair beside me. I leaned over to introduce myself and shake his hand. “I am Bindu Desai” I said, “I am Tanvir Jafri” he replied, I gripped his hand strongly, lowered my eyes and winced. He nodded implying that he understood I was trying to convey how deeply I regretted what had been done to his family. We were silent for a few minutes. He now lives with his mother Zakia in Surat. “I cannot live in Ahmedabad now” he said in a soft voice. His sister Nishrin who lives in the USA came by and remarked how good it was for her mother to have so many survivors come and sit by her and talk to her. One marvels at how this family can maintain their equanimity after the gruesome way in which their father Ehsan Jafri was killed.

Shiv Vishwanathan, who had written the latest issue of Communalism Combat: 2002-2012: The Gujarat Genocide TEN YEARS LATER, was as he has been in his writings witty, scholarly and deeply committed to getting Justice for the victims. Shiv and his students provided the audio-visual back up for the meet. The stage for Shubha Mudgal was ready on the terrace of the L end of Gulberg Society. Candles were lit by young and old and their flickering light reminded me of Mahatma Gandhi’s words:

“In the midst of darkness light persists,

In the midst of untruth truth persists

I n the midst of death life persists,”

Tridip Suhrud introduced Shubha Mudgal and her words before the concert set the tone for what followed. Shubha first acknowledged her accompanying musicians Aneesh Pradhan on the tabla, Sudhir Nayak on the harmonium. She began by apologizing for coming so late to the struggle for Justice and said that what she would sing today was not an entertainment but a tribute and a recall of what religion and a citizen’s sense of security should be. Her voice rang through the air, the crescent moon and an occasional star shining down, witness to our crimes, perhaps wondering how a decade later such an exquisite voice could fill the air of so sad a place. She sang of Mazhab as love, of, an individual perplexed at being singled out by fate, of the gnawing pain and grief of losing loved ones…..

I have been to Hiroshima and Auschwitz. Both conveyed their own particular horror and unsettling and painful as they were, Gulberg society was wrenching. Though the US has never meaningfully apologized for its barbaric acts, Germany has admitted its crimes and provided reparation. Official Gujarat has shown no remorse, the larger society has reelected the instigator twice and admires him. But a decade later the struggle goes on. It is awesome to behold the determination of 540 witnesses, a lot of them women, who have been given armed protection ordered by the Supreme Court of India, not to give up, to pursue the matter diligently and persistently till those guilty are punished for their crimes. The overwhelming force that drives them is to ensure that other sisters, widows and mothers do not have to endure what they have had to.

Over 3000 thousand people had come to Gulberg Society to pay their respects to the dead and missing and to offer such comfort as they might to those whose grief is bottomless.

May Justice be done and soon.