By Abdul Hameed, TwoCircles.net,
Mumbai: The Special Investigation Team (SIT), appointed by the Supreme Court in March 2008 to reinvestigate nine cases of Gujarat riots 2002 that had claimed at least 2000 lives, is all set to submit its report by the deadline of February 15 or before it.
‘SIT is ready to furnish its report on all nine post-Godhra cases which are being reinvestigated by us,’ the Chief of SIT R K Raghavan has said.
Besides Raghavan, the SIT comprises Uttar Pradesh Director General of Police C D Satpathy and three Gujarat cadre IPS officers Geetha Johri, Shivanand Jha and Ashish Bhatia.
All the nine cases were put into cold store but only after witnesses named many political figures from saffron outfit the reinvestigation was ordered.
Many of the witnesses had named the Gujarat Minister for Women and Child Development Maya Kodnani of BJP in Naroda Patia massacre which left at least 80 Muslims killed. She was a BJP MLA from the region in 2002. She is also an accused in Gulbarga Society massacre in which 75 Muslims including the Congress MP Ehsan Jaffari were killed.
Nearly 14 other BJP and VHP leaders accused in Gulbarga case are absconding.
Local BJP leader Jaydeep Patel and former municipal counselor of the party Ashok Patel are said to be among the accused in Narodagam case in which 11 Muslims were killed during the riots.