By
TwoCircles.net staff reporter
Ahmedabad : The concerned citizens of Gujarat have registered strong moral outrage at the shocking disclosures made in the Tehelka-AajTak expose on the Gujarat carnage 2002.
"The expose alludes to the direct involvement of the elected members of the State Assembly, Cabinet Ministers of Government of Gujarat, the administration officials, and
the police and judicial machinery in carrying out the carnage," said a statement released on October 29.
"We also condemn the unilateral and unconstitutional decision of the Ahmedabad District Collector of taking six news channels off the air while the telecast was going
on. This is a serious and direct infringement of the freedom of the press and the freedom of expression in Gujarat.
"We also condemn the arrest of two innocent residents of Bhuj who were called by the police for denying them the permission for holding a peaceful demonstration in support of
the victims of the carnage of 2002," it added.
Demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) enquiry into the Gujarat carnage, the concerned citizens of Gujarat demanded from the Central Government to issue an Ordinance suitably amending the provision of the Delhi Police Establishment Act which requires the
consent of the State Government for investigating any matter by the CBI.
They demanded that the BJP as the principal party in power at the Centre then, and in the
State as well, should take moral responsibility for the crimes committed in 2002, and issue a strong condemnation of those involved in the crimes and shown in the tapes.
They also demanded from the State administration to take immediate steps to cancel the
bail of all those named in the tapes, viz. Babu Bajrangi, Jaydeep Patel, and all others accused in the various cases related to post-Godhra violence, who have been caught on tape confessing to the same, and who are currently out on bail.
The statement issued by the concerned citizens of Gujarat demanded re-telecasting of the
expose, since most of the State have been unable to view the same, on account of the unconstitutional ban on the channels for more than 24 hours, and re-examination of all public prosecutors and judges in all cases related to 2002 for their proximity or connection to Sangh Parivar outfits.
It also demanded immediate suspension of and initiation of legal proceedings against the police officers named in the tapes.
The signatories to the statement include Hiren Gandhi, Ghanshyam Shah, Fr. Cedric Prakash sj, Persis Ginwalla, Mukul Sinha, Saroop Dhruv, Samir Khan, Jayesh Patel, Waqar
Qazi, Jayesh Solanki, Bhavik Raja, Bharat Parmar, Meera Rafi, Gaurang Raval,
Bharat Jhalla, Javed Ameer, Pravin Mishra, Aawaz-E-Niswan, Forum Against
Oppression of Women, Fr. Francis Parmar sj, Ashoke Chatterjee, D. Ramakrishnan,
Fr. P. D. Matthew sj, Bharat Rathode, Veronica D’Souza and several others.