Zakia Jafri`s lawyer questions SIT report on Bhatt`s presence at Modi`s meeting

Ahmedabad: The lawyer of Zakia Jafri on Wednesday picked holes in the SIT report on whether suspended IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt attended the meeting held by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi after the Godhra train burning incident.

"Credibility of a witness needs to stand trial in a court. It is up to the court to decide whether the witness is saying truth or lie," Jafri`s lawyer advocate Mihir Desai said, referring to Bhatt`s statement that he was present at the meeting on February 27, 2002 at Modi`s residence. Bhatt has alleged that Modi, at this meeting, asked police officers to let Hindus "vent their anger". Modi has denied that Bhatt was even present at the meeting. Advocate Desai pointed out that the Special Investigation Team talks a lot about Bhatt in its report. "Were they investigating offence related to 2002 post-Godhra riots or were they probing Sanjeev Bhatt," he asked. Jafri, upon whose complaint about alleged roles of Modi and others in the riots the Supreme Court set up the SIT, has now filed a petition before the magistrate challenging SIT`s closure report giving clean chit to Modi. Jafri`s husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was killed during the riots. Jafri`s complaint accuses Modi and others of hatching a conspiracy which led to riots. Citing amicus curiae advocate Raju Ramachandran`s report, Desai said it was natural that Bhatt would have attended the meeting, as he was the only intelligence officer who was not on leave or who was informed about the meeting. The then state IB head O P Mathur had said that he was not informed about the meeting, ADGP G C Raigar and Upadhyay were on leave; and Bhatt, who was then Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence (DCI), had said that he attended the meeting where Modi asked police to go soft on rioters, Desai said. PTI