Valsad Deputy Superintendent of Police KG Erda was arrested on Sunday in connection with a 2002 Gujarat riots case.
Valsad Deputy Superintendent of Police KG Erda was arrested on Sunday in connection with a 2002 Gujarat riots case by Special Investigation Team on charges of dereliction of duty and tampering with evidence, the first police officer to be arrested by the Supreme Court appointed panel.
Erda, who was posted at Meghaninagar police station as an inspector during the post-Godhra riots, was arrested in connection with the mob attack on Gulbarg society that left 38 people dead including ex-Congress MP Ehsan Jafferi.
"We have arrested Erda, who is presently posted in Valsad, in the Gulbarg society case under various charges," chief of the Supreme Court-appointed SIT, RK Raghavan, said.
"One of the charges against Erda is inaction on duty amounting to abettment of crime. Another charge against him is tampering with evidence (collected from Gulbarg society)," Raghavan said.
The SIT chief, who refused to divulge other charges against Erda, said the DSP was arrested this morning from Valsad.
Erda is the first police officer to be arrested by the SIT which was appointed by the apex court in March last year, sources said.
Erda had been recently interrogated by the SIT, that is investigating riot-affected areas, along with some other police men posted in those areas then.
The SIT has already filed an over 2000-page chargesheet in the Metropolitan court in connection with the Gulbarg case which names 14 accused and lists 21 absconders.
The list of absconders includes some local leaders associated with saffron outfits like VHP and BJP.
The chargesheet also names ex-municipal councillor from BJP, Chunilal Prajapati and sitting councillor Bipin Patel, who are also absconders in the case.
It also has statements of 567 people who are either eye-witnesses or survivors of the attack. The initial chargesheet, filed in 2002, had named 46 accused in the case.
The arrest comes days after Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani was declared an absconder on the SIT's plea in connection with two other Gujarat riots cases.
She was later granted anticipatory bail in the Naroda Patia and Naroda Gam riot cases, which had caught the nation's attention.
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