Tags:
Journalism of Courage
While 89 people were being killed in Naroda-Patiya and Gulbarg Society was being set afire, resulting in 42 deaths, the then JCP Sector II M.K. Tandon stayed away. And, instead, he chose to monitor Dariapur where no major incidents were reported during the riots.
The absence of the police officer came to light during his cross-examination before the Justice Nanavati-Shah commission probing the riots.
8216;8216;I was controlling the communal situation in Dariapur and could not rush to Gulbarg and Naroda-Patiya but had instructed then DCP Zone IV P.B. Gondia to rush to Gulbarg Society,8217;8217; said Tandon.
In his defence, the senior police officer claimed that had he left Dariapur, then the whole area would have been set ablaze. On the Gulbarg and Naroda-Patiya massacres, Tandon said: 8216;8216;These were unfortunate incidents and the officers sent to the two spots could not control the agitated crowd.8217;8217;
He further said the instructions to send additional security forces to Gulbarg Society were issued by then city Police Commissioner P.C. Pande.
Asked what steps he took on receiving an 8216;8216;urgent8217;8217; message that Gulbarg was being torched and anti-social elements were pelting stones at policemen, Tandon said he told the control room to send additional troops, including two DySPs, one inspector and one CISF battalion. He, however, said he didn8217;t know if the troops had reached on time or not.
Tandon also said the death of a Hindu youth after he was run over by a vehicle driven by a Muslim was the main reason for the flare-up in Naroda. He added the FIR in the case was lodged 10 days after the incident. However, he failed to explain why the incident was not mentioned in the FIR registered by the local police.
