Teesta Setalvad, secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), has demanded that, on the basis of the report submitted by the special investigation team (SIT) before the Supreme Court, an FIR should be filed against chief minister Narendra Modi.
Tehelka magazine has published a scoop on the report that the Supreme Court-appointed SIT had earlier submitted to the court in sealed cover.
According to the Tehelka report, the SIT has made many damaging observations regarding the alleged role of the chief minister, police officers and bureaucrats in the communal riots.
"I was very upset by the earlier report in the media that the SIT had given a clean chit to Modi," said Teesta who has been at the forefront of the campaign for justice for the victims of the Godhra riots.
"Acting on the report, the SIT should now file an FIR against Modi to ensure a comprehensive investigation because there is ample evidence for a formal FIR," she said.
"Last month, the lawyer Raju Ramchandran submitted a 10-page report to the Supreme Court on the SIT findings and we are expecting justice from the apex court," Teesta said.
The Supreme Court lawyer, Raju Ramachandran, is the amicus curiae in the matter concerning Zakia Jafri's petition seeking an investigation into the alleged role of Modi and 62 others in the 2002 riots.
Reacting to the Tehelka report, Mukul Sinha, convener of the Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM) who has also been fighting for justice for the riot victims, said that the SIT should now file an FIR against Modi.
"Also, the Nanavati Commission should now accept our demand and allow us to conduct a cross-examination of the chief minister and others," Sinha added.
The Nanavati-Mehta Commission, which is investigating the communal riots of 2002, had earlier rejected the JSM's plea seeking permission to cross-examine Modi, his personal assistants and the then home minister, Gordhan Zadafia. The JSM has filed an appeal before the Gujarat high court against the commission's ruling.
Senior lawyer in the Gujarat high court and human rights activist said that a first reading of the Tehelka report indicated that Modi can be held responsible for the riots in Gujarat.
"If he cannot be nailed under law, he is at least morally responsible for not suppressing the riots as the head of the state's government. It is also evident that he did not visit the riot-affected areas for many days," Patel said.
Giving the example of the Mumbai riots of 1992, Patel said, "Justice Krishna Iyer, who conducted an enquiry into the riots, had held many people responsible for the violence on the basis of an analysis of telephone records and wireless messages of police stations."
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}