Salt in mass grave may explain Gujarat’s missing in Bilkis case

The salt was used for early disintegration of the bodies but that, CBI sources said, did not really happen because the moisture-content in the soil — the grave’s near a rivulet — was very high.

AIIMS experts, assisting the CBI in its probe, are currently studying the human remains exhumed in Dahod and brought to Delhi.

Bilkis, five months pregnant when the riots broke out, was raped and saw eight of her relatives, among 14, raped and killed. Her case is the first Gujarat riot case being investigated by the CBI.

The CBI now has the account of two persons who were made panch witnesses by the local police when the bodies were being disposed. They have told the CBI that Nalpat Singh ordered them to go to the market and purchase 60 kg of salt.

The salt, the witnesses told CBI, was then scattered over the battered bodies by the police.

While the CBI tries to get to the truth, forensic experts from AIIMS and CFSL are preparing a preliminary report for the CBI. The report is likely to indicate the number of bodies in the grave as well as their age and sex. But the DNA analysis of recovered bones and clothes could take weeks.

Meanwhile, the CBI has summoned Jaswant Bhabhor, BJP MLA from Randhikpur, to its Baria camp for questioning on Monday.

Sources said Bhabhor, who was state civil supplies minister during the riots, was summoned on the basis of information provided by his personal assistant Ramesh Chandana who’s in CBI custody. CBI sources said Chandana had told them he had accompanied Bhabhor during much of the violence. Bhabhor could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. The CBI team has been questioning a number of officials and Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal workers from the region in connection with the Bilkis case.

Among those questioned are Ramsingh Bhabhor, the then circle inspector of Dahod; Raman Bhagora, a deputy superintendent of police; and sub-inspector Idris Saiyad.

They have applied to an Ahmedabad fast-track court for anticipatory bail fearing arrest by the CBI. The court, which will hear the application on Monday, has issued notice to K N Sinha, the CBI officer in charge of the investigation.