The Noose Tightens

The sensational Tehelka sting exposes the ugly faces behind the 2002 riots and comes closer to proving that the state administration, including CM Narendra Modi, were actively involved.

Just as Indira Gandhi could never disassociate herself from the Emergency, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi finds it impossible to extricate himself from the infamous 2002 riots in Gujarat that claimed around 1,300 lives, nearly 1,000 of them being Muslims. The carnage returned to haunt Modi once again as Tehelka magazine, in a stunning sting operation, caught on camera VHP activists, actual perpetrators of the crimes as well as government counsel boasting how the anti-Muslim riots, in the aftermath of the Godhra killings, were carried out in a planned manner with the support of Modi, and how the judicial process was circumvented, with the connivance of the state Government, to provide an escape route to the accused.

The sting operation was carried out over six months with the reporter posing as an author writing a book from the Hindutva point of view. VHP activists described on camera the gory acts they committed, including rape and cold-blooded slaughter. Modi, typically, has chosen to dismiss the allegations but the focus is now on the judicial implications of the exposé especially after a lower court judgement, a week after the sting was aired, on the Eral case, one of the prominent riots cases of 2002 in which nine Muslims were killed by a Hindu mob, including two women who were raped and then killed. The Godhra District Court sentenced eight to life imprisonment and three others to lesser terms. As a jubilant human rights activist Teesta Setalvad, who is fighting the Gujarat riot cases in the Supreme Court and aims to involve Modi himself, commented after the sting operation, “Every such episode renews our hope that justice will be done to the riot victims. The Tehelka exposé should be admitted as substantive evidence by the Supreme Court.”

Significantly, the apex court had ordered re-examination of 2,000 of the 4,250 riots cases of 2002 following Setalvad’s intervention in 2004. There is a clamour among human rights activists for prosecuting Modi following the exposé. But as Nirupam Nanavati, Gujarat’s leading criminal lawyer and Congress leader says, “The statement of a co-accused is not admissible as evidence under the Indian Evidence Act. Modi’s prosecution is possible only after Section 10 of the Act is pressed by the investigation agency to facilitate a fresh probe, which can lead to his implication based on evidence that might surface. However, there is no doubt that earlier there was a finger of suspicion against him but now it aims at him in perception.”

The judicial cases against the 5,000-odd accused still facing charges in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases are expected to get stronger thanks to the Tehelka sting. But the impact of the exposé has been diluted to some extent by inaccuracies in the statements of those interviewed during the sting. Two of the 14 caught speaking on camera say that one day after the Naroda Patiya massacre in Ahmedabad on February 28 (in which 89 Muslims were killed by a Hindu mob) Modi came to Naroda Patiya to thank them. But the statements of Babu Bajrangi and Suresh Richard, key accused in the case, seem to be boastful lies as the official records show Modi didn’t go to Naroda Patiya on that day.

Similarly, a VHP activist, Ramesh Dave, told the Tehelka reporter Ashish Khaitan on camera that one of the divisional superintendents of police, S.K. Gadhvi, promised him that he would kill five Muslims during the riots and carried out his promise by killing five Muslims in the Dariapur area. Official records show that Gadhvi was posted in Dariapur area of Ahmedabad one month after the riots and no such incident took place during his tenure. Despite this, the operation has proved a windfall for the human rights lobby with the chilling and gory descriptions of rape, murder and mass slaughter. More chilling is that these people are still walking free, although they have gone underground after the sting. INDIA TODAY looks at their involvement in the riots, their macabre claims and the status of the cases against them.

BABU BAJRANGI
FORMER BAJRANG DAL LEADER

Bajrangi, 48, is one of the 64 accused in the Naroda Patiya riots case in Ahmedabad, in which 89 Muslims were killed by a mob on February 28, 2002. Bajrangi, whose actual surname is Patel, got the nickname following his association with the Bajrang Dal. A Kutchi Patel, he left the VHO recently following his differences with the party leadership over his intervention in inter-caste marriages and then joined the Shiv Sena. He has had police cases against him in the past.

In the Tehelka sting, Bajrangi can be seen narrating the gory details of how he ripped open the womb of a pregnant woman and went on a killing spree. He says, “It has been written in my fir that I ripped open the womb of a pregnant Muslim woman and flung the baby away with the sword. After killing Muslims we felt like Maharana Pratap. After killing them, I called up the home minister (Gordhan Zadaphiya) and also Jaideep Patel (a senior VHP leader). I told the home minister we have killed so many people, please take care of us. He told me to flee the spot, hide somewhere and save myself.”

“We were doing a running commentary for the home minister from the field when the riots were on. Modi also helped me in many ways. He asked me to flee and kept me in hiding in Abu, and, finally, when I was arrested he ensured the transfers of three lower court judges to facilitate bail for me. No one can do what Modi did. He came to Naroda Patiya, saw our enthusiasm and thanked us.” After the exposé, Bajrangi has gone underground and has been avoiding the press.

LEGAL STATUS: After the Naroda Patiya massacre, he evaded arrest for over four months and was finally caught in June 2002. He was in jail for six months before he was given bail.

HARESH BHATT
NATIONAL BAJRANG DAL VICE-PRESIDENT

Bhatt, 53, was the national Bajrang Dal vice-president when the riots broke out. In the Tehelka sting he says, “Modi was very favourable to us. Hamare main apas ka milap tha (We were hand in glove). Modi gave us three days (after the Godhra carnage) to do whatever we wanted in order to settle scores. After three days, when he told us to stop we stopped. I made bombs using diesel and pipes which were used on the Indo-Pak border (the border of Hindu and Muslim localities in Ahmedabad). We even got swords and other weapons from Punjab. Even rocket launchers were made in my cracker-manufacturing unit at Ahmedabad and were used in the riots.”

“I also participated in a meeting with Modi called soon after the Godhra carnage to chalk out a strategy.” The very fact that these statements are on camera and were made by none other than Modi’s own BJP MLA, that too representing an important seat like Godhra, makes things difficult for the chief minister. Bhatt also mentions being part of a meeting with Modi soon after the Godhra carnage but that is not supported by the records available. Ever since the revelations, Bhatt has gone underground and stayed out of sight.

LEGAL STATUS: No case was filed against Bhatt in connection with the Gujarat riots. He has, however, been avoiding the media.

GORDHAN ZADAPHIYA
FORMER STATE HOME MINISTER

Zadaphiya, now a rebel in an anti-Modi alliance, was minister of state for home during the 2002 riots. His name figures prominently in the statement of Babu Bajrangi. Says Bajrangi, “After committing the massacre I called up the home minister and also VHP leader Jaideep Patel. I told the minister around 7 p.m. that we have killed so many people, so please take care of us. He told me to flee the place and save myself by hiding some where.” Zadaphiya is tight-lipped on the issue. When pressed he says, “I didn’t give any such advice or instructions to anybody during the riots. The courts and the Nanavati Commission are looking into the affair. I have nothing more to say.” Interestingly, Zadaphiya, who has been close to VHP, has announced recently that he won’t join any party nor contest the next election, but would help the anti-Modi forces by campaigning against the chief minister. Though Zadaphiya also held negotiations with some Congress leaders on behalf of the BJP rebels for seat adjustment, many Congressmen, particularly from minority communities and human rights activists, including Teesta Setalvad, had opposed his entry into the Congress on the grounds of his alleged role in the 2002 riots.

LEGAL STATUS: No case was filed against him in connection with the Gujarat riots. He has however, been maintaining a low profile after the exposé.

ARVIND PANDYA
FORMER GOVERNMENT COUNSEL

Pandya, Gujarat Government counsel with the Nanavati-Shah Commission, was caught on the Tehelka sting tape that was aired on the Aaj Tak channel saying, “The report of the Nanavati-Shah Commission is going to come in the Government's favour because Shah is our man and Nanavati can be swayed with money. Modi was so enraged by the Godhra carnage that had he not been a minister, he would have himself gone and thrown bombs in Juhapura (a Muslim locality of Ahmedabad).” Pandya set off on an amazing damage control exercise within a day, saying that Dhimant Purohit, the Aaj Tak bureau chief at Ahmedabad and a friend, suggested to him he play the role of a government counsel in a television serial being made by Aaj Tak on the 2002 Gujarat riots titled “Madshow”. Since Purohit was a friend, he said he accepted the offer and read the script in front of two unknown persons who had come to film the episode. Pandya said he was stunned to find later that this was being sold as a sting operation. After saying this at a press conference, the counsel resigned from his post. Aaj Tak on the other hand has denied Pandya’s charge saying that it was a Tehelka sting operation in which no Aaj Tak scribe was involved.

LEGAL STATUS: He is not an accused in any case.

Commission of Omission

Court rulings and counter petitions by the state Government have resulted in more delays

On March 6, 2002, the Gujarat Government set up a commission of inquiry headed by retired high court judge K.G. Shah to inquire into the Godhra train burning and the subsequent violence, and submit a report in three months. Following criticism from riot victim organisations, activists and political parties over Shah’s alleged proximity to BJP, on May 22, the Government reconstituted the commission, appointing retired Supreme Court Justice G.T. Nanavati to lead the body.

Nanavati’s name was recommended by the Supreme Court to head the commission on the Gujarat Government”s request. Technically it is known today as the Nanavati-Shah Commission and has examined over 3,100 witnesses so far. Soon after it was set up, Justices Nanavati and Shah visited the sites of the riot cases across the state to study the details personally. It is probing the following aspects of the riots:

The causes behind the Godhra carnage.

The causes behind the post-Godhra riots

The conduct of the chief minister, ministers, political leaders and other Government officials during the riots.

Whether the nhrc recommendations were followed by the state Government in the riot cases.

Whether the compensation given to the riot victims was proper.

It has taken a long time to submit its report because of the sheer workload, which is substantiated by the 4,250 riots cases that were registered in 2002 in the aftermath of the Godhra carnage. If Mukul Sinha, the lawyer fighting for the riot victims before the commission is to be believed, the government counsel have used delaying tactics to ultimately delay the commission’s report. But one of the reasons behind the delay in the proceedings of the commission is its terms of reference which enjoin it to examine whether the compensation given to the riot victims was proper. This has triggered 40,000 applications to the commission from compensation seekers, delaying the proceedings.

Justice Nanavati has till now enjoyed a fairly good reputation as a Supreme Court judge. But former government counsel Pandya’s scandalous comments about him in the Tehelka sting operation has cast legitimate doubts about his partiality. He now has to prove otherwise.

The exposé has come as a shot in the arm for human rights activists who want the accused in the Gujarat riots punished. But politically, it might turn out to be a windfall for Modi and his supporters on the eve of the Gujarat polls. Modi’s supporters have their own arguments against the exposé. One, why didn’t Tehelka do such an operation against the perpetrators of the Godhra massacre that triggered the reaction against the Muslims. Says state BJP spokesman Vijay Rupani, “It is part of the overall campaign to defame Modi. The same activists who are crying for justice for the Muslim riot victims are trying to save from the clutches of law those accused of killing 59 Hindus at Godhra. The sting operation is a part of the larger plan to defame the Sangh Parivar and weaken the nationalist forces.” All in all, the operation has strengthened Modi’s image as a hard core Hindutva leader at a time when some Sangh Parivar elements have begun questioning his Hindutva credentials.

Meanwhile, most Muslims in Gujarat are happy that there is more evidence against those who targeted them. Says Zakia Jaffri, the wife of Congress leader Ehsan Jaffri who was butchered during the riots: “An fir should now be filed against Modi himself.” But there is a section within the community which thinks otherwise. As Juber Khan, a victim of the Naroda Patiya riot, says echoing the sentiments of a large section of riot victims, “Of course we do want punishment for those who perpetrated these crimes on us. But repeated emergence of that gory episode disturbs communal peace and creates insecurity in our minds at a time when life is becoming normal for us. We sincerely want respite from that dark chapter.” However, there is little likelihood of that with activists now preparing a national signature campaign to get the legal process moving faster in terms of convictions.

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