The apex court may hear both riot and encounter cases, and with the assembly polls around the corner, their combined effect may spell doom for BJP’s poll prospects.
AHMEDABAD: Reports of more families of encounter victims threatening to move the Supreme Court to demand a CBI inquiry is giving the BJP-led government in the state, the jitters. This comes at a time when petitions seeking the transfer of major riot cases out of the state are coming up for hearing in the apex court on May 7. With May 15 set as the date for hearing the fake encounter case and assembly polls around the corner, their combined effect may spell doom for the BJP’s poll prospects.
A clutch of eight petitions are coming up for hearing in the SC, filed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) on behalf of riot victims. They have demanded that the cases be taken out of Gujarat and a CBI inquiry be ordered. The riot transfer petitions relate to cases where trials has been stayed including the Godhra arson, Gulbarg, Sardarpura, Ode, Naroda Gam and Naroda Patiya massacres.
Home department officials told DNA the coincidence was giving the government sleepless nights. “They are already fighting to keep riot cases in the state, and now they will have to do the same thing for encounter cases. There is so much pressure from NGOs and civil society that one slip-up may cost them the Assembly election,” said a senior home department official.
The government has already been embarrassed by the SC after it sought an explanation as to why CID (crime) IG Geetha Johri was replaced as the investigating officer in the case on Thursday. It also suffered the mortification of former investigating officer CID (crime) DIG Rajnish Rai arresting two of its top IPS officers and one from a neighbouring BJP-ruled state of Rajasthan, causing a minor political crisis.
“The families of encounter victims including Ishrat Jahan, Samir Pathan and Tulsi Prajapati are threatening to move the Supreme Court to demand a CBI inquiry and the government is trying to put its best put forward before the court while it can,” said a senior IPS officer.
The SC also asked the state to submit three of Johri’s remaining reports before May 15, when is expected to pass an order on whether a CBI probe should be ordered into the case. Johri will personally submit the reports now that she is heading the probe. “Now that Johri has been brought back to head the investigations, she may be able to finish what she had started,” police said.
Congress is already milking the issue. Party MP Shankersinh Vaghela has alleged that the Modi-led government was involved not just in human rights violation during the 2002 riots but also staged the fake encounters. With the involvement of Amit Shah being alleged in the case, the government is already in hot water.
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