The Special Investigation Team report in the Zakia Jafri Criminal Complaint, both the one filed by AK Malhotra to the Supreme Court (12.5.2010) and the final report (8.2.2012) deceived both the Supreme Court and Amicus Curiae as the team concealed vital evidence collected by it whether it was in the form of Police Control Room records or Statements of Accused and Witnesses. Advocate Mihir Desai for Zakia Jafri and Citizens for Justice and Peace in the ninth day of arguments before the 11th Metropolitan Magistrate Ganatra today showed document by document how, whether it was in the case of frantic PCR messages warning of bloodthirsty mobilisation as corpses of the hapless Godhra victims were cynically brought to Ahmedabad in a bid to unleash hate and violence on the streets, or statements obtained during investigation, the SIT had misrepresented its own evidence, Even on the serious issue of hate speech and poison spread by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad a collaborator and conspirator with the ruling BJP, both Malhotra and Shukla had simply not investigated the critical documents provided by former ADGP Intelligence RB Sreekumar. Sreekumar had in a letter in April 2002 advised and recommended that the Hone Department prosecute the authors and publishers of this venom but the Home department headed by A-1 Modi had simply ignored these serious recommendations.

Desai argued that soon after the infamous meeting at Modi’s residence between 2230-2300 hours on 27.2.2002 to give effect to the conspiracy hatched by the core accused at Godhra earlier that afternoon, the motor cavalcade escorted by Jaideep Patel leaves Godhra for Ahmedabad. Of the 58 tragic deaths that took place in S-6 of the Sabarmati Express, four bodies that belonged to Dahod, Vadodara, Panchmahal, Anand districts were handed over to relatives there. In all, 54 dead bodies were sent to Ahmedabad. Of these, 19 of the unidentified dead bodies were cremated by the hospital authorities on 28.2.02 at Gota Cremation ground, near the Sola Civil Hospital by the District Administration and police officers with the help of the sarpanch of Gota. The undue haste in carrying out these cremations while the city of Ahmedabad was on fire has not been explained by SIT. The failure to follow regular procedures related to unidentified bodies has also been left deliberately unexplored. Twelve of the brutally charred bodies were brought to Ramol, Ahmedabad since many of the persons belonged to Ramol (among them were ordinary worshippers who had joined the trip to Ayodhya wrongly dubbed kar sevaks) and another two of the dead belonged to Khokhra. These were cremated by about 2 p.m. at the Hatkeshwar cremation ground about 4 kms away from Ramol).

The investigation records tell a gory story. In anticipation of the procession of VHP activists, known for their rabid anti-minority speeches and mobilizations accompanying the bodies from Godhra, panic messages demanding bandobast and protection are sent from local police authorities anticipating trouble. But there is no response from either the DGP’s office (responsible for law and order in the state) or the Commissioner of Police’s office (responsible for the Ahmedabad Commissionerate. Note: Incidentally these documents were made available to the SIT only after 15.3.2011, when former Ahmedabad CP, PC Pande, suddenly produced 3,500 pages of scanned messages on CDS that in this instance are described as “Wireless Message Book of Police Control Room, Ahmedabad City Control Room for date 28/2/2002”. They had been concealed by him earlier. SIT has not thought to question or penalize him for this criminal omission in a matter related to a matter of such grave importance.

These critical wireless messages reveal that from 1:51 hours of 28.2.2002, and again at 1:59 hours there was panic expressed by local vans demanding protection from SRP platoon immediately. That no such enforcements were sent by the higher-ups is apparent since the conspiracy hatched three hours before of letting mobs control the streets had been cynically hatched. By 2:44 hours on 28.2.2002, the motor cavalcade had reached Sola Civil Hospital and there is another confirmatory message at 4:00 hours of this fact. By 6:55 hours, i.e., within three hours an aggressive mob of swayamsevaks belonging to a sister organization of the ruling party, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has already gathered at the Civil Sola Hospital (Page No. 5794, Annexure IV, File XIV of the documents). Another message 20 minutes later at 7:14 hours informs the Police Control Room that is under the charge of Accused No. 29 (Commissioner of Police) that a large mob has gathered (Page 5796 of Annexure IV, File XIV of the documents). Again another message three minutes later at 7:17 hours (Page 5797 of Annexure IV, File XIV of the documents) says that another mob of 500 was holding up the traffic. This message is received by Control and passed on to Sola 1. An hour later, at 8:10 hours, a message records that three SRP platoons were sent from Police Control to Sola Hospital for bandobast. (Page 5826 of Annexure IV, File XIV of the documents). Thereafter, through the day wireless messages record that there are aggressive and tense crowds at the Hospital, en route and both locations of the cremations.

Worst of all, in furtherance of the pre-hatched conspiracy to ensure that a large body of armed and aggressive VHP-RSS-BJP supporters take to the streets with blood in their minds to seek revenge for the tragic killings at Godhra, Acharya Giriraj Kishore of the VHP was given VIP entry into the city of Ahmedabad so that poisonous and inflammatory speeches could be delivered during the cremation. Here is what Giriraj Kishore said to Star News on 27.2.2002. (Some words were censored out because they were deemed highly objectionable): Acharya Giriraj Kishore (Vice President, VHP): (Panel Discussion) (Incidents like this (Godhra) show the psyche of a community): “What is the reason for the pilgrims, they were attacked when they came from Amarnath? What was the reason? That is the psyche, I say!”….“Communal violence can be checked only…why this incident happened, who did it, what is the psyche behind it? This should be studied.”

The SIT Investigation reports both of Malhotra and Shukla brazenly skip a careful analysis of these records collected by them and provided to the complainant after rigorous arguments under Section 173(2). SIT also ignores the spate of virulent speeches being made before after and during the Godhra incident on 27.2.2002 To recap, the bodies could reach Ahmedabad by next morning for the proposed funeral procession instead of being dispatched to respective districts in contravention of clear procedures laid down, in the “Gujarat Police Manual’, in an all out bid to inflame the anger of the funeralists, which could be converted into a violent communal reprisal Ten dead bodies were taken to Ramol, and a massive funeral rally of thousands of aggressive slogan shouting “mourners” took the bodies to Hatkeshwar crematorium from 10 a.m. in the morning until evening. Around 10.30 a.m. or so, some crowds also went berserk and attacked a Muslim Hotel at Thakkarbapa Nagar, close to Naroda and also a High Court Judge belonging to the minority community. Finally the cremation took place at 1830 hours. According to the Malhotra Report under Allegation No. II: “The CM’s decision to bring dead bodies of those killed in Godhra train fire in Ahmedabad and parade them in Ahmedabad city”, 19 of the 54 dead bodies brought from Godhra which could not be identified were allowed to be cremated in a massive funeral procession, violating laws and regulations (of preserving unidentified dead bodies until claimed by relatives) at the Gota Cremation Ground, accompanied by VHP leaders like Acharya Giriraj Kishore, at a three kilometre distance from the Sola Civil Hospital. The procession encouraged by the powerful conspirators was also in violation of curfew orders that were imposed in Ahmedabad only around 1240 hours on 28.2.2002.

The Sola Police station is at a one-two kilometre distance from the civil hospital. The cremation that began at 1030 hours concluded only at 1830 hours (Malhotra Report) though the distance was only three kilometres. (Incidentally, the same day while this huge procession was allowed, huge mobs accompanied by at least 15,000 RSS and VHP men, led the murderous attack on Gulberg Society, Naroda Patiya and Gaam). Deliberately, the top brass in the state police and city police administration did not respond to repeated pleas for security and help from the wireless vans of the police and the State IB. Detailed empirical evidence, deliberately ignored by the SIT shows how aggressive mobilization of mobs had taken place to ensure an aggressive parading of dead bodies as per the plan hatched at Godhra by accused No. 1 and other co-accused and subsequent targeted unleashing of violence. Yet, I.O. Malhotra of the SIT ignores this wealth of evidence and states that though the processions were under heavy police escort they passed off peacefully! Malhotra’s report also admits that 12 of the dead bodies brought by Accused No. 21 (Jaideep Patel) were allowed by high level police and administrative authorities (Accused No. 30, K. Srinivas, Collector, Ahmedabad; Accused No. 29, PC Pande; Accused No. 38, Shivanand Jha) to be taken to Ramol and thereafter cremated at Hatkeshwar cremation ground 18-20 kilometres away. (Accused No. 33 MK Tandon is also punishable for the offences connected with this illegal parading of dead bodies in breach of prohibitory orders and curfew.

Fireworks flew in the Court when Desai argued that the SIT has in a clear display of utter negligence and bias misled the Hon’ble Supreme Court that no aggressive mobilisations took place around these acts of parading the dead bodies in funeral processions in such a calculated manner. A similar denial of the ground realities can be found in DCP Crime Branch, Himanshu Shukla’s report (Allegation II, Parading of Dead Bodies) dated 8.2.2012. Both reports deliberately gloss over the systematic preparations and mobilizations of crowds by the conspirators.

Besides Ashok Narayan had in his statement before the SIT clearly stated that chief minister and accused 1 was non committal about action on hate speech.

Ashok Narayan’s statement to SIT dated 13.12.2009

Que. Please see a D.O. letter dated 19-4-2002 addressed by Shri P.C. Pande, the then Commissioner.of Police, Ahmedabad City addressed to DGP with a copy to Addl. DG (Int.) as well as you about the alleged involvement of Minister namely Shri Bharat Barot in a rioting incident. What action was taken by you on this letter?

Ans. On receipt of this letter the matter was brought to the notice of Hon’ble CM. The CM assured that he would take necessary action in the matter. To the best of my recollection, I had personally spoken to the CM about the matter. However, no similar incident was reported later. It may be mentioned here that some time after the riots, I was sitting with the. Chief Minister when a telephone came on my mobile phone from some police officer that the presence of one Shri Prabhasinh Chauhan, the then Minister in the Govt. was agitating a mob and that it would be better if the Minister moved out from there. I immediately brought the matter to the notice of the CM, who spoke to Shri Prabhatsinh Chauhan and called him back. I don’t recollect the date, the name of the police officer or even the place where this event took place.

Instead of grilling him here’s what the SIT did:

Narendra Modi’s statement to SIT dated 27 & 28.03.2010

Q.41. Please see a copy of the DO letter dated 22.04.2002 addressed by Shri P. C. Pande, the then CP Ahmedabad City with a copy to DGP and Addl. DG (Intelligence) about the undesirable activities of Sang Parivar activists. Was this letter brought to your notice? If so, what was the action taken by you in the matter?

Ans. In this connection, it is stated that I do not remember now, whether this issue was brought to my notice or not. But, it has been my and my Government’s approach right from the first day, that a culprit is a culprit irrespective of his caste, creed, religion or socio political background, as nobody is above law.

The Accused Nos 25 DGP Chakravarti was examined six times by SIT, on 24.3.2010, 7.5.2010, 5.10.2010, 23.11.2010, 23.3.2011, 14.1.2012, yet SIT did not feel it imp to examine him on the criticality of the vicious hate speech and bartering of hatred indulged in by the VHP and allowed by the state police and administration, despite consistent recommendations to the contrary from its own Head of Intelligence, ADGP Intelligence (April 2002-September 2002) RB Sreekumar. It is no wonder that the administration allowed this criminality to go unchecked given the Home Minister was Accused Nos 1 Narendra Modi argued counsel for Zakia Jafri and Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) Mihir Desai before the 11th Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court today. Today was the ninth day of arguments in the Zakia Jafri Protest petition.

Arguments will continue on August 1.