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New Delhi:
Top Gujarat cop Sanjiv Bhatt, who has openly challenged Chief
Minister Narendra Modi by accusing him of wanting to teach Muslims
a "lesson" after the Godhra train attack also questioned in his
affidavit the integrity of the Special Investigating Team (SIT)
which is probing the 2002 riots at the behest of the Supreme
Court.
"I believe it is my painful duty to
bring to the notice of this Hon'ble Court that the SIT does not
appear to be living up to the enormous trust reposed in it by the
Supreme Court of India, to conduct an impartial and thorough probe
into the allegations of a larger conspiracy and administrative
complicity behind the Gujarat riots of 2002 and hence the present
affidavit", Bhaat filed in his affidavit to the Supreme Court.
"SIT has chosen to intimidate certain witnesses and coerce them in
to refraining from stating the true facts and thereby has created
an impression that the SIT is becoming a party to the ongoing
cover-up operation in Gujarat", he added.
"I have stated before the SIT that many serious incidents of
communal violence, including the carnage at Gulberg Society, could
have been easily prevented by firm and determined action on part
of the Police", he said.
"The leakage of details regarding my
earlier deposition and interaction with SIT have eventually found
their way to the media and have further jeopardized my safety and
the safety and security of my family members", the Gujarat top cop
said in his affidavit.
"Even today, the situation in Gujarat is such, that witnesses
would be afraid of vindictive reprisals and persecution at the
hand of the State machinery", he said.
"Evidently", he added, "Witnesses
serving under the control of State government would be highly
reluctant to come forward and take a stand that could imperil
their own safety or the safety and security of their families."
"I therefore request
that this Hon'ble Court be pleased to ensure that the SIT follows
up on all the leads provided by me in such manner that even
reluctant witnesses feel safe and confident to state the truth",
the Indian Police Service (IPS) officer said in his affidavit to
the Supreme Court.
Bhatt also said that there was continuous leakage of testimonies and
information from SIT to the Gujarat government, which he had
mentioned to the investigation group.
"It may kindly be noted that my fears regarding the
confidentiality of my deposition before SIT were eventually
confirmed as the contents of my signed deposition as well as the
details of my interaction with Shri A.K. Malhotra and Shri
Paramveer Singh-Members SIT, were somehow available to the highest
echelons of the Government of Gujarat. As a result and consequence
of the said breach of confidentiality, I was visited and continue
to be visited with unpleasant consequences," he said in his affidavit said.
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