Ahmedabad:
He's complained to the Supreme Court that Narendra Modi told police officers in Gujarat to "let Hindus vent their anger" during the state's communal riots in 2002. Now, senior police officer Sanjiv Bhatt has told the Nanavati Commission that when he told the Chief Minister about the police refusing to help those who were being attacked, Mr Modi did not act on his information.
Mr Bhatt has filed an affidavit with the Supreme Court that on February 27 2002, a day after 59 kar sevaks died when the Sabarmati Express was set on fire at Godhra, he was present at a meeting of police officers where Mr Modi asked police officers to be indifferent to rioters. Mr Bhatt claims that though he shared this information with a Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the court to examine the riots, he was ignored. Several Gujarat police officers who were present at this meeting have denied that Mr Bhatt was in attendance.
Today, he deposed before the Nanavati Commission which is conducting a parallel inquiry into the riots. Mr Bhatt claims that at another meeting with Mr Modi, he revealed that rioters were ready to target Gulbarga Society. Mr Modi did not respond to his alert, testified Mr Bhatt. Gulbaraga Society is where former Congress MP Ehsaan Jaffri was set on fire. His wife, Zakia, has filed a case in the Supreme Court accusing Mr Modi and other senior ministers of ordering policemen and bureaucrats to ignore calls for help.