Concerned citizens demand special investigation into Gujarat riots of 2002

(The Hindu
Oct 31, 2007

Demand for SIT probe

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Eminent citizens, lawyers, academicians, journalists and social activists have called upon the Central government and the Supreme Court to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged involvement of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, other senior functionaries of his government and the police in 2002 Gujarat riots ‘exposed’ by Tehelka recently.

“This SIT can be constituted by the Supreme Court and should be monitored on a regular basis and asked to complete their investigation within a few months. This would be one of the most important investigations ever undertaken in this country,” they said in a statement here on Tuesday.

They said the persons shown on Tehelka tape ‘confessing’ to having committed crimes must be immediately arrested and the serving officials shown must be placed under suspension.

“If the State government shows any hesitation in doing this, that will only reinforce the overwhelming evidence of their complicity in the carnage.”

Pending cases of Naroda Patia, Gulbarga Society and others which have been stayed by the Supreme Court, pending hearing of the applications for their transfer outside Gujarat for the last four years, must be immediately taken up by the court, ordered to be reinvestigated by an independent agency and cases tried speedily.

They said the Tehelka ‘expose’ demonstrated very starkly that these were neither “spontaneous” nor “riots” but “mass murder, loot and mayhem” orchestrated by the “Gujarat units of the VHP, Bajrang Dal and the BJP with full connivance and complicity of the Gujarat government.”

The statement was signed, among others, by Admiral R.H. Tahiliani, former Navy Chief, Shanti Bhushan, former Law Minister, Muchkund Dubey, former Foreign Secretary, Medha Patkar of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, Aruna Roy, social activist, Arundhati Roy, writer and social activist, Kamini Jaiswal, lawyer, Ajit Bhattacharjee, journalist, Arvind Kejriwal and Sandip Pandey, both Magsaysay awardees.