Ahmedabad: Former Gujarat DGP R B Sreekumar has appealed to Chief Minister Narendra Modi to initiate "concrete" measures to ensure delivery of justice and provide genuine relief and rehabilitation to victims of the 2002 communal riots in accordance with the "grief" expressed by the BJP stalwart on the violence on his blog.
In his 10-page letter to Modi, Sreekumar also demanded that the state government withdraws all cases filed against him and IPS officers Sanjiv Bhatt and Rahul Sharma, to prove that expression of grief by Modi regarding 2002 riots is genuine.
"The unequivocal expression of deep pain and anguish by you about limitless human agony during 2002 protracted communal riots in Gujarat. Your thousand-word blog post has evoked widespread hope, optimism and expectation among riot victim survivors and government functionaries who are still persecuted and victimised for performing their mandatory duties diligently," he said.
Referring to Modi`s expression that "I had to single handedly focus all the strength given to me by Almighty on the task of peace, justice and rehabilitation, burying the pain and agony I was personally wracked with", the former top cop said the ground reality remains "dismal".
"But the ground reality is dismal and frustrating because much remains to be done to ensure establishment and consolidation of durable peace, adequate social cohesion and genuinely intrinsic rehabilitation and resettlement of riot victim survivors in the pre-riot conditions," he said.
Modi, after a magistrate`s court upheld clean chit given to him by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT over his alleged role in riots, had written a blog in which he, for the first time, expressed his grief over the riots.
"As on today, nearly 8,700 riot victims are forced to stay in the unhealthy ambiance, deprived of even standard basic facilities, normally extended to those below the poverty line by the government. Constitute a Special Task Force (STF) for identifying and properly rehabilitating riot victim survivors," Sreekumar said in the letter.
"Initiate departmental action against DGP and senior
officers in Home department, who deliberately did not act upon specific intelligence assessment reports by the State Intelligence Branch (SIB)," Sreekumar wrote.
"High Court of Gujarat indicted the state government for its failure to protect Islamic monuments during the riots, and directed the government for their reconstruction. In this matter, acting in pursuance of your widely expressed regrets about riots, please withdraw the petition challenging the high court orders and start rebuilding of all Islamic monuments destroyed by the Sangh Parivar-led rioters," Sreekumar demanded.
He also alleged the Modi government was still "persecuting" whistleblower IPS officers including him.
"Your government do vigorously pursue disciplinary proceedings, prosecution and other acts of persecution against three whistle blower IPS officers ? R B Sreekumar, Rahul Sharma and Sanjeev Bhatt."
The former top cop also appealed to Modi to give up his "revengefulness" against honest officers.
"If your are committed to your emotional outburst in the blog about riots and are serious to give up your revengefulness against those who performed their duties for normalisation of the situation, please take action to end all on-going process of victimisation against these officers and establish that you are neither vindictive and sadistic, nor you do nurture personal grudge against those who are critical of your actions," he demanded.
Sreekumar also appealed to Modi to ensure delivery of justice to riot victims by bringing guilty officers to book.
"Sir, can you prove your keenness for justice delivery and welfare to riot victims by fixing criminal or departmental liability and accountability of officers, in this matter, who had allegedly committed offences under sections 186 and 188 IPC and violated their charter of duties envisaged in Chapter 4 & 5 of GPM vol-III and other instructions regarding efficacy and professionalism of police officers," he said.
The former DGP also asked Modi whether he can venture against those officers who "committed intentional professional lapses for helping the rioters from the majority community in their crimes, to prove your sympathy for riot victims".
