By IANS,
Ahmedabad: A special court trying the 2002 Gulberg Society massacre case Friday received an application from some of the victims seeking four top police officers to be arraigned as accused for negligence to stop the massacre.
The victims filed the plea before Special Judge B.J. Dhandha urging arraignment of the then Ahmedabad police commissioner P.C. Pande, the then joint commissioner police M.K. Tandon, the then deputy commissioner P.B. Gondia, and the then assistant commissioner S.S. Chudasama.
Following the plea, the court issued notice and posted the matter for hearing for May 26.
Counsel for the victims S.M. Vora said: “We have moved the plea to make the police as accused for their negligence to control the massacre, destruction of evidences and failure to perform their duty.”
He said that Pande, as the city police chief, failed to control riots.
“He remained sitting in office on Feb 28, 2002 when the Gulbarg Society was burning and large scale killing took place. We have proof from the telephone call CD that Pande had not visited the areas when the city was in the grip of rioters,” Vora said.
He further accused Chudasama of ignoring vital evidence while he was investigating the case the first time.
According to the petition, Chudasama failed to collect landline telephone call records of slain parliamentarian Ehsan Jaffri, who had made numerous requests to police officers, political leaders, chief minister’s office and his well wishers, when the society was facing a mob attack.
Tandon and Gondia are facing allegations that they were not present at Gulberg Society and were moving in other areas.