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Gandhinagar: Former
Gujarat additional director general of police R.B. Sreekumar has
urged the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team to
provide security to senior police officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who has
filed an affidavit implicating Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the
2002 riots.
In a letter addressed to SIT chief R.K. Raghavan, with copies to
the registrar general of the apex court, the chairman of the NHRC
and the director general of Gujarat Police, Sreekumar has said
that Bhatt's affidavit contains vital evidence incriminating and
damaging to Modi in relation to the meeting chaired by him on Feb
27, 2002 evening in which instructions violative of the letter,
spirit and ethos of the Constitution were reportedly given.
Bhatt is currently DIG at the state Reserve Police Training
College in Junagadh.
Earlier, a former state minister, Haren Pandya, who submitted
similar information to the Citizens Tribunal, headed by Justice
V.R. Krishna Iyer, had been assassinated in suspicious
circumstances. "It is learnt that police protection provided to
Bhatt has been withdrawn recently, without assigning any reason.
He and his family should be provided with adequate and effective
security cover, after proper and comprehensive threat assessment
urgently," the letter states.
Sreekumar has stated that Bhatt, who served the State Intelligence
Bureau, during his tenure as Additional Director General of
Police, (ADGP) Intelligence from April 9, 2002 to Sep 18, 2002 was
quite successful in collecting many advance intelligence inputs on
the communal situation in those disturbed days in Gujarat, and
disseminating these to concerned persons.
"I had even appended copies of 12 such reports in my First
Affidavit to the Justice Nanavati judicial inquiry commission on
July 15, 2002, and 2 in my Second Affidavit to the Commission on
Oct 6, 2004. Bhatt was transferred untimely out of the
Intelligence Bureau on Sep 18, 2002 along with me, reportedly for
submitting a report, to the state government, on a controversial
speech with communal overtones delivered by Modi in Mehsana
district, during his Gaurav Yatra in the first week of September
2002," it states.
Sreekumar, in his letter, has expressed the apprehension that
activists of the Sangh Parivar and over-zealous fans of Modi are
likely to nurture severe ill-will and hatred against the IPS
officer for revealing information adversely affecting the chief
minister's image and therefore the urgent need for security for
Bhatt and his family.
Bhatt, in his affidavit, says that Modi, in his Feb 27, 2002
meeting after the Godhra train burning in which 59 Kar Sevaks were
killed, told officials: "This time the situation warrants that the
Muslims be taught a lesson to ensure that such incidents do not
recur ever again."
"The chief minister expressed the view that emotions were running
very high among the Hindus and it was imperative that they be
allowed to vent their anger," said the affidavit, made available
to the media.
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