By IANS,
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat state Congress Tuesday filed an application before the Nanavati-Mehta Judicial Inquiry Commission probing the 2002 communal riots, seeking directions to the state government to furnish the “relevant and necessary” documents to “unveil the truth” behind the carnage that left dead over 1,000 people, mostly Muslims.
The application filed by advocates Hiralal Gupta and J.C. Parmar on behalf of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) states that production of these documents relating to the riots period is necessary for a just and expedient inquiry.
The GPCC has asked the probe panel to direct the Director General of Gujarat Police and the Inspector General of Police (DGP and IGP) to produce the documents for the period beginning from 6 a.m. of Feb 27, 2002, to midnight of March 9, 2002.
Among the documents it has sought to be produced are: the register of incoming and outgoing telephonic messages of the control room of the state Intelligence Bureau, duty register of the state control room, movement diary of DG and IG register, and the log book of the vehicles used by the DGP and IGP.
The application also seeks production of the duty list of the drivers of the state control room, alert messages received by the state control room and by the DGP and IGP, the messages forwarded and received by the state control room for movement and despatch of the police force, copies of documents forwarded by Sanjiv Bhatt, titled as “Godhra Incident of 27.02.2002 and Giving Intelligence Analysis”.
The Congress has also sought directions to the Additional DGP (intelligence) to furnish the same details with a copy of the diaries and the minutes of the officers who attended the meetings with the then minister of state for home Amit Shah and Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
The probe panel was also requested to direct the commissioner of police of Ahmedabad city to produce a copy of the register of incoming and outgoing messages (including wireless sets), names of the officers and ministers who had come to collect information in respect of the antecedents of slain Ehsan Jaffri, former MP, about his alleged involvement in communal riots on Feb 27, 2002, and Feb 28, 2002. It also sought a copy of telephonic messages forwarded to the deputy commissioner of IB about collecting information in this regard.
A copy of the messages forwarded to the state head quarter/home department and the chief minister for demand of additional police force by the police commissioner of Ahmedabad has also been sought.
During the hearing Tuesday, state government counsel S.B. Vakil objected to giving out the list of questions that the government intends to ask IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who in an affidavit has charged Modi with collusion in the riots.
Counsel submitted that it would amount to limiting the cross examination, which should not be permitted by the commission. At one point, he said Bhatt was “running away” from cross examination.
Bhatt strongly opposed the submission and wanted the commission’s intervention and protection from such insinuation. He claimed the government was running away as it did not submit the list of questions. He said the government was asking irrelevant questions which were not the subject matter of his summoning before the probe panel.
At this stage, the commission told Bhatt that if he feels that the questions put by the state were beyond the scope and irrelevant, then he may choose to refuse to answer them.
On Bhatt’s status, Jan Sangharsh Manch’s counsel Mukul Sinha submitted that Bhatt was not a witness as he has not been administered oath and hence should be treated as informer. For this reason, only the commission had the powers to examine or question Bhatt, he submiited, while adding that other parties had no right to cross-examine him.
The commission reserved till Thursday the order on application of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind (JUH), which has demanded that depositions made by Bhatt before the panel be struck down. Order on Bhatt’s application seeking documents from the government and SIT has also been reserved. The hearing is now adjourned for June 27.