2002 riots: Sreekumar writes to Modi, urges him to take ‘concrete measures’

Sreekumar wrote that the Gujarat HC had indicted the state government for its failure to protect Islamic monuments during the riots.

Sreekumar wrote an open letter to Modi on Tuesday, asking him to immediately expedite the judicial procedures and rehabilitation of the riot victims.

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 him on the violence on his blog. Sreekumar wrote an open letter to Modi on Tuesday, asking him to immediately expedite the judicial procedures and rehabilitation of the riot victims. While emphasising on Modi’s “emotional reaction” to riots after eleven years, Sreekuamar pointed out 13 areas where the CM must look into immediately.

In his 13-page letter to Modi, Sreekumar stated that while Modi wrote on his blog that he had to single-handedly focus all the strength given to him by God on the task of peace, justice and rehabilitation and burying the pain he was personally wracked with, the ground reality was that much needed to be done to ensure peace, social cohesion, intrinsic rehabilitation and resettlement of riot victims. 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 the riots is genuine.

Sreekumar wrote that the Gujarat HC had indicted the state government for its failure to protect Islamic monuments during the riots and directed it take steps for the reconstruction of the dargahs and shrines of Muslim saints and poets that were demolished in 2002. “…Please withdraw the petition challenging the High Court orders and start rebuilding of all Islamic monuments destroyed by the Sangh Parivar-led rioters,” Sreekumar wrote.

The retired officer also asked for the constitution of a Special Task Force to identify and properly rehabilitate the riot victims, who have been living in poor conditions in Ahmedabad in the absence of basic infrastructure. He also asked the CM to constitute a team of officers from police, law and home departments to probe into “lopsided implementation of the apex court order of 2004” for reinvestigation of 2,000 odd riot cases closed by Gujarat Police by not even issuing a statutory notice to the complainants.

Sreekumar wrote that Modi must 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 during the riot period. Sreekumar specifically demanded action against all officials, from the DGP to the Chief Secretary, who avoided maintenance of minutes of meetings convened by the DGP to the Chief Minister during the 2002 riots. The retired DGP further wrote that the CM should respond to his representation that he has also forwarded to Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal.

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