By Twocircles.net Staff Correspondent
Ahmedabad: The probe into the complaint filed against Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 62 others in connection with the post-Godhra riots of 2002 began today with Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team(SIT) “interacting’’ with Zakia Jafri and Teesta Setalvad.
The probe was ordered by the Supreme Court through its order on April 27 this year on a petition filed by Zakia, widow of slain former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. The ex-MP was among 69 Muslims brutally murdered in the Gulberg Society on February 28, 2002, during the statewide anti-Muslim riots.
Speaking to mediapersons, SIT chief R K Raghavan said that SIT had officially begun the probe into the complaint filed in the apex court seeking probe against Chief Minister Modi, his seven cabinet colleagues and several senior IAS and IPS officers.
He said that they first called Zakia and Teesta because SIT wanted to know what happened on the day of riots in Gulberg society. As for Teesta, he said that she was called for interaction as she was convener of the Concerned Peoples Tribunal which had conducted a hearing in the matter and its findings had been used by Zakia in her petition.
Asked if Narendra Modi would also be called for probe or “interaction” as Raghavan preferred to call in connection with Zakia and Teesta, he said that whoever was needed for a probe as per orders of the Supreme Court would be interrogated.
According to SIT sources, two former judges of the Supreme Court including Justice P B Sawant, who had participated in the proceedings of the tribunal, would also be called for “interaction.”
Talking to Madhyamam, Teesta said that she was questioned particularly about former minister (now murdered) Haren Pandya who had deposed before the tribunal.
Belonging to anti-Modi camp, Pandya had deposed before the tribunal about a meeting held by Modi on February 27, 2002, after the Sabarmati train tragedy. In his depositions, he had stated that Modi had ordered the then DGP Chakravarti and senior IAS official Ashok Narayan not to take any action against the Hindu mobs venting their ire by attacking the Muslims.
Pandya had also revealed that there were four or five ministers also present in Modi’s meeting. However, Pandya had not revealed their names to the tribunal. Unfortunately, Pandya was murdered subsequently in broad daylight. While his family members accused Modi of plotting the murder, police arrested several Muslims from Hyderabad and Gujarat and about a half dozen accused in the case have been convicted in the case.