04July2013

08, May 2017

July
04, 2013

Press Release

Conspiracy Confounded
— Fifth Day in Arguments in Zakia Jafri Protest Petition today

Arguments in the Zakia Jafri Protest Petition against Narendra Modi
and 59 Others continued for the fifth day today with counsel for Smt
Jafri Mihir Desai highlighting the deliberate lacunae by the Special
Investigating Team in probing the illegal post mortems that were
held in wide public view at the Godhra railway yard as part of the
high-level Conspiracy masterminded by A-1 Narendra Modi with the
full connivance of A-2 then health minister Ashok Bhatt, now
deceased, A-5 Gordhan Zadaphiya and others, with the active
participation of A-21 Jaideep Patel and other VHP men who were
deliberately galvanized to use the fact and sight of the tragically
burnt corpses to build up and spill venom against innocent members
of the Muslim minority.

Between
1330 Â– 1530 hours on 27.2.2002 after the assembly proceedings, A-5
Zadaphiya leaves for Godhra. Accused No. 1 gets four calls from A-2
Ashok Bhatt on the mobile number of his PA, OP Singh, informing A-1
about the situation in Godhra. A-2 Mr. Ashok Bhatt (now deceased)
had admitted that it was he who had instructed local doctors through
the Civil Surgeon at Godhra for the post-mortem. A-2 Mr Ashok Bhatt
who was in regular touch with A-1 Mr. Modi left for Godhra at

9.30 a.m. according to his statement
to SIT and reached around

12-12.30 p.m. As the inquest was
over, a decision is taken by A-2 taking instructions from A-1 to
conduct post-mortems in the railway yard itself where the dead
bodies are lying. Decision was taken to start hasty post-mortems
(Phone call records). SP Raju Bhargava (A-46) is directly
responsible along with DM Jayanti Ravi for allowing these
post-mortems in public in violation of law and in violation of
Curfew Orders. Admittedly, according to DM Ravi and SP Bhargava, by

11 a.m. latest curfew had been
declared in Godhra town; yet large crowds of the VHP were allowed to
assemble at the railway yard where the burned corpses had been lined
up and view the post mortem that, shockingly took place in public.
Photographs and videos of the bodies too were allowed freely in
violation of strict provisions of the Gujarat Police Manual.

Under
the criminal law, it is the inquesting authority who has to decide
whether to send the dead bodies for post-mortem or not. But in the
present case PM of almost all bodies were over by 18.45 hours,
the time when inquest report was signed in the presence of A-1, A-2
and A-5 obviously following their directions. The question
which the SIT has simply not bothered to ask is, under whose orders,
the Post- mortem was being conducted in the Railway Yard Itself
without any facility and equipments and also by doctors who were not
trained to do Post Mortem? The motive behind this was clear:

Â–
Bodies could be dispatched through a VHP strongman and
co-accused (with whom A-1 is in touch since morning) A- 21 MrJaideep
Patel to reach Ahmedabad by next morning for the proposed funeral
processions and parading

Â–
Public post-mortem and free use and distribution of photographs
of the gory bodies was encouraged by A-1, A-2 an A-5 to inflame the
anger of the funeralists, which could be converted into a violent
communal reprisal against innocent sections of the minority.

Phone
Call records that are a part of the SIT investigation but were
deliberately ignored by the SIT were also used today by counsel
Desai for Smt Jafri and Citizens for Justice & Peace to show how A-1
directed the illegally conducted post mortems in full public view.
Calls were made from the phone of his PA OP Singh who travelled with
him to Godhra. Equally said Desai a mysterious and suspicious detour
on the way to the airport could be detected from the locational
details of Anil Mukhim and JP Thakkar from the Chief MinisterÂ’s
Office (CMO) who also accompanied him to Godhra.

On the
way to the Ahmedabad airport from Gandhinagar the location of these
two officials who admitted by Modi himself accompanied him to Godhra,
are found in and around Meghaninagar where the Gulberg society is
located and where one of the worst massacres occurred the next
morning. Why did A-1 go here when this was not on the way to the
airport and when Meghaninagar is not a communally sensitive area?
Why did SIT record statements of all CMO men except AP Patel from
whoÂ’s phone A-1 called Jaideep Patel on the morning of 27.2.2002
directing him to go to Godhra ?

The Bandh call given
by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad was known to officialdom by

12.30 p.m. openly supported by the
ruling BJP and became an occasion to allow VHP-RSS mobs to roam the
streets of Gujarat with impunity. The first ever message from the
Home department headed by A-1 Modi to round up communal elements and
act is given after 10 p.m. on 28.2.2002 when more than half of the
pre-planned massacres have taken place. Desai gave copies of this
message to the Judge from the SIT Papers ( Document attached).The
calls made by Ashok Bhatt on the Mobile of Mr Om Prakash Singh has
again not been discussed by the SIT The call details show that A-1
(chief minister) was in touch with A-21 MrJaideep Patel as well as
with A-2 Ashok Bhatt. The making of calls by A-2 Ashok Bhatt to
Accused No. 1 shows that the Inquest of dead bodies was done after
taking instructions from A-1, the chief minister.

The A-1
had used the mobile of Om Prakash Singh. In the statement given to
the SIT by Singh (9.11.2009), he accepted that A-1 spoke on his
mobile when there was an extreme emergency. He only says that he did
not see A-1 talking to anyone on his mobile phone. The SITÂ’s
conclusions that CM was not in touch with Â“controversial persons
Maya Kodnani and MrJaideep Patel during riotsÂ” is contrary to the
documents on record. A-1 was therefore in touch with both Maya
Kodnani (A-16) and MrJaideep Patel (A-21).

1530-1645 hours 27.2.2002

Departure

The
mobile phone call records of Mr. Anil Mukim show that between
15:37:57 hours and 21:58:36 hours his location is not traceable
which is in all likelihood during the time he was accompanying
Accused No1 to Godhra. However, just before that, at 15:33:40 hrs
his location (and then again at 22:01:18 hrs) is shown to be in and
around Meghaninagar where the Gulberg Society is located and a major
massacre was perpetrated the next day. Does this mean that Accused
No. 1 went to the airport via Meghaninagar and if so, why? The SIT
has not investigated this despite it being pointed out.
Interestingly, the other person from the CMO who accompanied A-1 to
Godhra, Mr. J.M. Thakkar PRO to the CM, also shows his location
before going to Godhra in the same location, in and around
Meghaninagar at 15:34:48 hrs. Mr. Zadaphiya A-5 has reached Godhra
by around 1600 hours.

After
arrival at Godhra helipad, A-1 Modi directly goes to the site, which
is the railway yard where the dead bodies after inquest were lying.
He enters into the burnt coach and while coming out talks to the
media. It is during this time that the postmortems on the
dead bodies start. A-1 was therefore party to the decision to
conduct postmortems (illegally in the open railway yard). When he
talks to the press there are several VHP workers present. Mr Jaideep
Patel (A-21), Ashok Bhatt (A-2) and Zadaphiya (A-5) were present
when A-1 visited the railway yard which is where the mutilated and
burnt corpses have been allowed to have been kept in the open.

It is at that point of time that a decision was taken to hand over
the dead bodies to MrJaideep Patel (A-21) of the VHP for being taken
by road to Ahmedabad. When A-1 arrives at Godhra, he was received by
Mrs. Jayanti Ravi and Mr. Ashok Bhatt and he straightaway drove to
the Godhra Railway Station, inspected the spot and thereafter
proceed to the Collectorate and meet people and the press. Two
ministers from his cabinet, Co-accused No 5, Mr Gordhan Zadaphiya,
then MOS Home and Accused No 4, Prabhatsinh Chauhan, the then
Minister of Civil Aviation & Pilgrimage, were also present. It was
the Collector who revealed to the investigating agency (SIT) that
MrJaideep Patel and VHP Gujarat secretary (A-21) also met chief
conspirator and Accused No.1, at Godhra.

SIT
admits at Page 60 in its final report dated 8.2.2012 that Mrs
Jayanti Ravi has stated that in the meeting held at the Collectorate,
A-21 Mr Jaideep Patel, a VHP leader was also present. However, under
Allegation No. IV, the SIT still goes on to assert that A-1 Mr. Modi
had never met A-21, Mr. Jaideep Patel (SIT Report, 8.2.2012). The
SIT has not dealt with this aspect that the post-mortems of the dead
bodies was taking place in the presence of A-1 and was not stopped
by him though it was an illegal act. The SIT also does not deal with
the presence of a large crowd of VHP workers and the presence of Mr
Jaideep Patel general secretary of VHP Gujarat besides the presence
of A-2 Mr Ashok Bhatt and A-5 Mr Zadaphiya. Worst of all, the SIT
has not bothered to even look at the required legal procedures
necessary to be observed in the wake of the Godhra tragedy. There
are strict laws against allowing such hasty post-mortems to happen
without proper procedures of identification and without family
members being present; there is a strict prohibition against
allowing photographs of corpses in a gory or mutilated condition
from being taken, shot or telecast. (See details of Rules from
the Gujarat Police Manual mentioned below). By not even dealing
with this grave offence, the SIT has shown its unprofessionalism and
distinct bias.

SIT has
deliberately left un-investigated the whole question of the illegal
and hasty post-mortems conducted in the open in the rail yard, with
large and aggressive crows of the VHP, RSS and BD present, despite
the fact that these facts are made known to them in the statements
of then DM Jayanti Ravi and others. SIT has not investigated how
gory photographs were allowed to be taken, telecast and broadcast
not just by newspapers like the Sandesh but also publications
brought out by the VHP. SIT obviously did not consider investigating
such serious facts as emerged in the Investigation that too in such
a sensitive case.

Arguments on behalf of Complainant Smt Zakia Jafri assisted by
Citizens for Justice & Peace will continue on

July 18. Attached is the List of
Dates handed over to the Court today; Chart showing Locational
details of Powerful Accused at Meghaninagar on the way to Godhra and
the belated message sent after

10 p.m. on 28.2.2002 from the Home
Department headed by A-1 Narendra Modi to ask for preventive
detentions.

—
Location of Powerful Perons and Accused at Meghaninagar

—
Fax msg No.SBII-COM-102002-496, dtd 28-02-02 from Shri P.S. Shah

—
130704 LOD Bandh Post Mortems and Violence 27.2.02

Teesta Setalvad, Secretary

Other Trustees:

I.M. Kadri, Nandan Maluste

Cyrus Guzder        Javed Akhtar
Alyque Padamsee
Anil Dharker          Ghulam Peshimam
        Rahul Bose


Javed Anand         Cedric
Prakash