Sanjiv Bhatt did not attend Modi's Feb 2002 meeting, says SIT


Ahmedabad, Apr 29 (PTI): The Supreme Court-appointed SIT today said that as per all the evidence gathered, IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was not present during the high-level meeting held on February 27, 2002, in which Chief Minister Narendra Modi had allegedly instructed the police to go soft on rioters.

Bhatt had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in which he said he was present during the meeting in which Modi had allegedly instructed police to give the rioters room to "vent out their anger" and to "teach a lesson" to those involved in Godhra train burning incident.

SIT lawyer R S Jamuar told the metropolitan magistrate B J Ganatra's court that the investigating agency has independently inquired into what had transpired in the meeting.

The court is hearing a protest petiton by Zakia Jafri, wife of Congress leader Ehsan Jafri killed in the riots, seeking filing of charge sheet against Modi and 58 others who she had named in her complaint filed before the Supreme Court. She had also sought further investigations by an independent agency other than the SIT.

In the 2002 riots, around 1,000 people, majority of them Muslims, were killed.
Zakia in her petition has included the statements made by Bhatt on the alleged instruction given by Modi in that meeting.

"Sanjiv Bhatt says that he attended the meeting. But if he had attended, then he should have informed his senior officer G C Raigar about the developments of the meeting. Raigar has said that Bhatt never told him about any meeting that the latter attended," Jamuar argued.

"Also, Bhatt sent a wireless message to IPS officer Rahul Sharma asking him to confirm whether slain minister Haren Pandya was present at the high-level meeting convened by the Chief Minister. If Bhatt was present in the meeting, which is what Zakia Jafri has stated in the protest petition as evidence, then why should he ask Rahul Sharma whether Pandya was present in the meeting or not that night," Jamuar argued.

When Sharma said Pandya was not present in the meeting on the night of February 27, Bhatt again asked Sharma to verify and confirm whether he was there or not, Jamuar added.

  

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Comment on this article

  • Gladson, Brahmavar

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    SIT is spot on! Sanjiv Bhatt was not even born during the high-level meeting held on February 27, 2002. He was born on February 28, 2002! NaMo supporters and BJP goons have been accusing UPA of controlling CBI blatantly forgetting how NaMo has sabotaged entire administrative and legislative mechanism in Gujarat in the last one decade. While his US-based PR team is busy projecting him to be the Messiah, the people of Gujarath, specially those who live in Narmada, Dahod, Dangs, Valsad, Panchmahals, Banaskantha etc have been seeing the real devilish face of NaMo. Want to know how deep poverty is rooted in Gujarat, go to these districts or to Bharuch, Kheda, Anand etc and you will know NaMo's contribution towards 'hi-fi Gujarat'. Sad part is that even the media plays to the tunes of NaMo since all NaMo related news is released by his PR team to them. Gujarat still stands distant 11th in literacy while on 7th place in rape cases, 8th in crime against women and number 2 in kidnap, extortion cases. There are other states which are worse than Gujarat. But the way NaMo and Gujarat is projected it should have been Gandhiji’s 'Ram Rajya' by now where everything was perfect and everyone was happy. The number of poor families in Gujarat’s villages has risen by 39 per cent over the last decade, going by the state government's own data. In terms of per capita income (PCI), in 2011, Gujarat ranked sixth among major states with PCI of Rs 63,996, after Haryana (Rs 92,327), Maharashtra, (Rs 83,471), Punjab (Rs 67,473), Tamil Nadu (Rs 72,993) and Uttara-khand (Rs 68,292).
    What about inclusive growth in Gujarat? Though Gujarat, with 31.8% people below the poverty line did better than Maharashtra and Karnataka, it still lagged behind Kerala, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, where poverty levels were 19.7%, 20.9%, 22.9% and 24.1%, respectively. Yet NaMo is the saviour, one and only Messiah, the answer to India's all problems blah blah...Is it true?

    DisAgree [3] Agree [8] Reply Report Abuse

  • Dev, Mangalore

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Well Said about 12 year Development of Messiah.
    PAID MEDIA- only airs their MASTER's VOICE with All the Vices they get Granted for doing that!

    DisAgree [1] Agree [8] Reply Report Abuse

  • Richard, Mangalore

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    If Modi and his government are so efficient, why till date Haren Pandya's murderers are not caught? They claim to have caught /killed terrorists, who came to assassinate Modi.

    DisAgree [3] Agree [7] Reply Report Abuse

  • Krishna, Mangalore

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    We do not know whether Modi directly participated in the riots,( indirectly yes ) BUT as a chief Minister he failed in his duties and did not carry out the required constitutional duties as per the OATH taken by him as a Chief Minister.
    Pls refer to the strictures passed by the H'ble Supreme court against the Modi govt ( 12 sept 2003 Times of India )
    Modi just passed a joke saying that for every action there is equal and opposite reaction.

    I appreciate that you stick to the principle that every guilty is punished BUT ask your conscience to find out how many were killed and raped - and how many got the punishment.

    I do not appreciate the role played by Sanjiva Bhat as he kept quiet all these 8/9 years
    and when the things went some where wrong, he started to fight for his rights . But this is too LATE Any how something is better than nothing.

    Modi was blaming UPA govt for not doing anythig for the release of Sarabjit Singh But he easily forgot that the BJP / NDA also did not do anything for Sarabjit during their 6 years rule. What a double standard.

    DisAgree [4] Agree [7] Reply Report Abuse

  • Krishna, Mangalore

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Yes Aravind, I can give you some evidences which you are in need. TRUTH IS ALWAYS BITTER.
    Indian Express, in 2002 published the details of talks between Gujrat Police control rooms and Sangh Parivar goondas ( for one week ). What was the need for Police control room to be in contact with Sangh Parivar ????

    As per another report of Indian Express of 8 Aug 2004, the Police Inspectors provided petrol
    from their vehicles to burn houses and colonies.

    As per Times of India - 21 July 2002 ( even after 5 months of tragedy )the names of the Karsevaks died in the burning train were not made public.
    I do not know whether the names have been published or not ??? And what made Mr Vajpyee
    the then PM and BJP to keep quiet for such a long time on this blunder.

    DisAgree [9] Agree [22] Reply Report Abuse

  • Aravind, Blr

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Krishna, you answered the wrong question :) I asked Dev about his sources of information for things he claimed are happening like erasing call records, creating call records, pandia roaming free in Gujarat every night etc. You gave me news snippets from 2002. Please read John Anthony's comments - the truth is lives were lost and guilty need to be brought to book. I fully subscribe to that view. But witch hunting Modi even when he is not charge sheeted is what I do not agree with and I am pretty sure that those news snippets you shared must have been considered by appropriate investigative agencies.

    DisAgree [8] Agree [4] Reply Report Abuse

  • Declan, Mumbai

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    It has been reported that Mr. Ehsaan Jafri who was an MLA, phoned Modi directly from his house and asked him for protection from the rioters but Modi just ignored his request for help.
    Do you call that witch hunting Modi ? Give me a break.
    I am not even talking against the BJP on this forum but I can never ever support anyone who is connected with the murder of innocents either through an act of commission or omission irrespective of political party allegiances.

    DisAgree [3] Agree [13] Reply Report Abuse

  • Aravind, Blr

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Nobody is supporting anyone who murdered innocents. My point of view is let the courts of the country decide who is guilty and who is not, including the acts of commission and omission. Whoever is found guilty, even if that is Modi, they should be handed out the harshest punishment. Until then, baying for Modi's blood IS considered witch hunting according to me. I will not comment on this topic any more, as I refuse to be drawn into non productive, emotionally driven discussions. Peace!

    DisAgree [6] Agree [3] Report Abuse

  • Declan, Mumbai

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Emotionally driven comments are those made by Modi lovers who are singing his praises and promoting his name for PM even before the Courts have decided.
    By the way the US government deemed it fit to deny Modi a US entry visa even before the Indian courts verdict. Is the US government's decision to ban Modi also emotionally driven ??? There is substance to the accusations. Proving the accusations is an uphill task as the man is in power. He is controlling the state machinery and people.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [5] Report Abuse

  • Naveen Shetty, Mangalore

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    There are acts of commission and acts of omission. This applies in every sphere of life. As an elected representative the leader has to act when things around him not going right. Modi cannot claim that he was unaware of the things which were going around. The next question is what action he took?
    The failure to take action is also a grave crime. The blood of killing the innocents will never be washed.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [7] Reply Report Abuse

  • ravi shetty, mangalore

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Sanjiv Bhatt is a big liar & paid agent of congress.

    DisAgree [31] Agree [21] Reply Report Abuse

  • jeevan, mangalore

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Once again congi game plan foiled....

    DisAgree [29] Agree [17] Reply Report Abuse

  • Dev, Mangalore

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    If Call records were erased to eliminate evidence, for which no satisfactory answer came from the Modi Government, They can create wireless records as well.
    A constable who had given evidence of ping Sanjiv Bhat later retracted & turned hostile- Why?
    Simple he was threatened with dire consequences.
    When Home Minister like H.Pandya can be eliminated, The encounter accused IPS officer Pandia is escorted daily to his house in the evening & escorted back to jail in the morning instead of police custody(VIP Treatment), ANYTHING is Possible in Modi Raj.
    Kamsa too was invincible until Krishna waited for his "Papada Koda" to be full- same fate awaits all those who defy "Rajdharma".

    DisAgree [13] Agree [24] Reply Report Abuse

  • Aravind, Bl

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Dev, You seem to be knowing a lot about how things supposedly work in Gujarat. I am curious to know the source of all these information. When one sees an outcome that does not confirm to what one believes, then it is natural to fall for any conspiracy theories doing rounds!

    DisAgree [15] Agree [12] Reply Report Abuse

  • Dev, Mangalore

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Why same yardstick is not followed, when Central government is accused everybody says- there is no smoke without fire.
    All these things are revealed in courts & yesterday itself the escorting of Pandia is broadcast live.
    It all depends on you- whether you want to keep your eyes & ears open or tie blindfold like Gandhari!

    DisAgree [2] Agree [13] Reply Report Abuse

  • Aravind, Blr

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Pandian is in the custody of Maharashtra Police which is ruled by Congress. Maharashtra Police has the responsibility to follow due procedures for Pandian. Please read the news article carefully and dont quote things ively. Which different yardstick are you talking about for Central Government? In all the cases, the standard statement is law will take its own course. On the contrary, I see that some are using different yard stick when it comes to Modi :) That said, you are entitled to your opinion :)

    DisAgree [9] Agree [4] Report Abuse

  • john anthony, kochi / qatar

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    All this is irrelevant. What is relevant is that people lost lives. Our systems are so insensitive to helpless people losing their lives, that we keep talking of the technicalities, clauses, meetings et all. As someone said, God knows what happened, and He is the one who will mete out justice at the right time.

    DisAgree [2] Agree [20] Reply Report Abuse

  • Indian, Mangalore

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Bhatt's wife got Congress ticket. Bhatt is only blaming but he cannot prove...why?????

    DisAgree [12] Agree [21] Reply Report Abuse

  • Declan, Mumbai

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    She only got Congress ticket right ? She did not get a cabinet minister's post right ? So nothing great.
    No need for proof. Just see how many people were slaughtered. That is enough proof.
    Witnesses can be bought,manipulated,threatened,killed or blackmailed. Will that change the truth ?
    Evidence can be destroyed. False evidence can be fabricated.
    Evil minds know how to do these things.
    Proof is only required in the Courts but that does not change the truth.

    DisAgree [13] Agree [26] Reply Report Abuse

  • Naufal, Uddabettu

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Only god knows.He is the best prosecutor..

    DisAgree [4] Agree [19] Reply Report Abuse

  • Gurudath, M'lore/Mumbai

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Bhatt... your game is up!!!

    DisAgree [17] Agree [32] Reply Report Abuse

  • Zameer, manglore

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    What we expect with SIT more then this ? Mera bharath mahan

    DisAgree [26] Agree [21] Reply Report Abuse

  • Declan, Mumbai

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    You are right ! Modi supporters were accusing CBI, now please also accuse the SIT of biased investigations.
    It is obvious that the SIT is under the control of the BJP govt. of Narendra Modi in Gujarat.
    If Haren Pandya a minister and a witness could be killed then anything is possible.

    DisAgree [27] Agree [42] Reply Report Abuse

  • KRPrabhu,

    Tue, Apr 30 2013

    Eer va saaled kaldini anna?

    DisAgree [38] Agree [22] Reply Report Abuse


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Title: Sanjiv Bhatt did not attend Modi's Feb 2002 meeting, says SIT



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