Zeenews Bureau
Ahmedabad: In fresh trouble for Narendra Modi, Raju Ramachandran – the amicus curiae in the Zakia Jafri case of 2002 post-Godhra riots – has reportedly said that the Gujarat Chief Minister could be charged in connection with the communal violence.
In his report which has yet to be made public, Ramachandran reportedly says the case against Modi could not be considered closed. The amicus curiae differs with the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) view that there was no concrete evidence to chargesheet Modi.
According to reports that appeared in a leading daily today, Ramachandran has shared his report on the Gujarat riots with the SIT, which the apex court set up to investigate and prosecute cases related to the 2002 riots that claimed over 1,200 lives.
The report, according to sources, says the interrogation of senior Gujarat police officers, including Sanjiv Bhatt, could help establish the CM’s role in the violence. Bhatt has claimed that he was present at the meeting where Modi ordered the police officials to allow the majority community to target the minority community post the Godhra train burning incident.
If Ramachandran’s recommendations are accepted by the trial court, Modi could then be chargesheeted under various Sections of the IPC, including 153 A (statements promoting enmity between communities), 153 B (imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration) 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 166 (public servant disobeying a direction of the law with the intent to cause injury).
According to other reports, the amicus curiae has even recommended that criminal action be initiated against those senior police officers who failed to protect innocent lives during the riots.
First Published: Sunday, October 23, 2011, 09:35