Ehsan Jafri’s widow wants FIR against CM, other bigwigs

Four years after Gulbarg Society went up in flames in the aftermath of Godhra, the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri has shot off a complaint letter to the Director-General of Police...

Four years after Gulbarg Society went up in flames in the aftermath of Godhra, the widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri has shot off a complaint letter to the Director-General of Police (DGP), alleging a behind-the-scene conspiracy and holding 63 people — many of them political bigwigs — responsible for the rioting.

Among those named in the letter by Zakia Jafri are ministers Ashok Bhatt and I.K. Jadeja, Gordhan Zadaphia, Pratapsinh Chouhan, C D Patel, MLA Mayaben Kodnani, then police commissioner P.C. Pande (who is DGP now), former DGP A K Bhargava, M.K. Tandon who was in charge of the area then, and then Home Secretary Ashok Narayan.

Jafri’s family alleges a ‘‘larger conspiracy’’ to target the minority community and wants a fresh FIR to be filed by the police in the case, naming all of them as the accused.

Why four years later? Jafri’s son Tanvir says the conspiracy angle became clear only after several affidavits were filed with the Nanavati-Shah Commission. The family believes that the case filed till now is against those who committed the crime, now they want action against those who were ‘‘behind the scene’’.

‘‘The affidavits filed by several police officials, including R.B. Sreekumar and former DSP of Bhavnagar Rahul Sharma, state that the post-Godhra riots were part of a criminal conspiracy, in which the Chief Minister is involved. Several agencies have made a statement that they were specifically asked not to act against the rioting people,’’ said Tanvir.

Claiming that they have ‘‘more information’’ in the case, Jafri’s widow sent the letter by registered post to the DGP on Saturday. Copies have also been sent to the State Home Secretary.

Though senior police officials refused to comment on the letter, the Jafri family is hopeful that a fresh FIR would be filed. Officials said if this was done, this would be the first post-Godhra riot case wherein the Chief Minister is directly named as an accused.

Russian oil major to work with Gujarat

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MOSCOW: GUJARAT Chief Minister Narendra Modi has managed to draw attention in Moscow to the investment possibilities in Gujarat.

“In Moscow, there is a very good breakthrough between Gujarat and Gazprom, in sphere of oil and natural gas. During the talks, the sides agreed to form a joint working group to develop cooperation mainly in four areas — business strategy, exploration strategy, human resource development and technological support,’’ Modi said at the end of his weeklong visit to Russia.

He said a team of experts from the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) would hold talks on the issue with a high-powered Gazprom delegation, scheduled to arrive in Goa for negotiations with the ONGC later this month. During his visit, Modi also sought to persuade high-ranking officials of the diamond industry to send rough diamonds to Gujarat for cutting and polishing, eliminating middlemen — countries like Israel and Belgium for instance — to the advantage of both sides.

—Dadan Upadhyay