Ahmedabad, Nov 06: At least five riot witnesses belonging to majority community of the city today told the two-man probe panel that "they had clearly seen ex-Congress MP Ehsan Jafri open fire at a mob" outside the Gulberg Society on February 28 last year during post-Godhra communal backlash. Hardly any minority community witness came forward to depose, mainly due to the month-long Ramadan, and among the handful who approached the commission comprising Justice (Retd) G T Nanavati and Justice (Retd) K G Shah, was a close relative of the ex-MP who hid in the loft of his house while Jafri and others were allegedly slaughtered.
Controversial issues such as the visit of former Police Commissioner P C Pande at the Gulberg Society in the morning and the latter firing at a mob, that provoked the slaughter, came up before the commission once again.
Riot victim and a close relative of Jafri, Safdar Hussain Ankleshwaria told the commission that on February 28 huge armed mob had gathered outside the society and were shouting slogans.
He said out of fear a majority of the residents gathered at Jafri's house as he was a prominent local leader, hoping that they would be spared.
"Jafri had called Pande over phone. Pande had come to the gate of society around 10.30 am and assured help. Jafri told us this and also instructed that all gates of the society be locked," Ankleshwaria said.
He said, however, as soon as the commissioner left, the mob outside had increased in numbers and were attempting to get inside the society. Bureau Report