Riot victim gives clean-chit to VHP leader Jaideep Patel

Rafique Sheikh, a victim of the 2002 communal riots in Naroda Gam, has in his statement to the Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team...

Rafique Sheikh, a victim of the 2002 communal riots in Naroda Gam, has in his statement to the Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), given a clean-chit to VHP leader Jaideep Patel. He has thus contradicted himself in a petition that he had earlier apparently submitted to the Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM).

Mukul Sinha from the JSM has, however, denied having made any application on behalf of Rafique Sheikh or that they had ever received any application from him.

Sinha and the JSM are fighting the legal battle on behalf of the riot victims. Sinha clarified that their submissions to the SIT is based on evidence of telephonic call records of some of the accused in the case like VHP leader Jaideep Patel and BJP leader Maya Kodnani.

Story continues below this ad

In his statement to the SIT, Sheikh has admitted having given an application to the JSM, but has said that nowhere did he mention Jaideep Patel as the person who had directed the rioting mob to enter his shop and vandalise it.

Sinha has questioned the existence of any such application.

He said: “This is a very weird statement recorded by the SIT. We only helped Sheikh in approaching the SIT to get his statement recorded in Gandhinagar. Apart from that we do not have any role in his case. We stand by our statement that Jaideep Patel was conducting and instigating the communal riots. But that is based on evidence and not on the statement of any of the riot victims.”

Deputy Superintendent of Police P L Mal, who is investigating the Naroda Gam case, said he will have to check Sheikh’s statement before commenting.

Sinha also said that this seems to be an attempt to shield some of the big names in the case.

Story continues below this ad

“The uproar created about some of the victims in the case retracting from their earlier statements would demoralise other witnesses in the case who could otherwise have come forward to provide some evidence against them,” he said.

Sinha also expressed his unhappiness over the investigation being carried out by the SIT. He said it is being done in such a way that many of the big names in the case like Jaideep Patel and Maya Kodnani are being let off.