SIT does not rule out questioning Modi in riots probe

The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Tuesday did not rule out questioning Narendra Modi over fresh allegations that the Gujarat chief minister and his administration had abetted the post-Godhra riots in 2002.

"I don't rule out anything at all," SIT chief RK Raghavan said here.

Raghavan said this in response to a volley of questions over whether his team would quiz the BJP leader following the direction by the Supreme Court on May one to the SIT to probe within three months the complaint that Modi, his cabinet colleagues, police officials and senior bureaucrats allegedly had a role in the communal riots.

"We will proceed depending on the need of the investigations and as and when the facts evolve, whatever required by the law will be throughly investigated," he said.

The SIT team on Tuesday had its first interaction with Zakia Jaffrey on whose complaint the Apex court had given its direction. Zakia's husband and ex-MP Ehsan Jaffrey was killed during the riots in Gulburg society along with 36 others.

"It can be officially said we have begun inquiry into the petition filed in the Supreme Court against some of the leading politicians in Gujarat," Raghavan said.

"We had first interaction with the lady (Zakia Jaffrey) to find out what happened on the day of the riots (February 28, 2002). This is just the first stage, we are having a plan of action for the investigations and it has to be conducted in an orderly manner to be fair to the petitioner as well as the accused," he said.