Top cops knew ex-Cong MP Ehsan Jafri was burning, his friend had sent out SOS

What’s known so far is that Jafri called people for help. Investigating cellphone records during the worst days of the riots, The Sunday Express has now found that Jafri called a party colleague who, in turn, worked the phones.

From the Director General of Police to the Police Commissioner, from the city’s mayor to the leader of the Opposition. But Gulbarg kept burning.

Jafri’s phone records also hide one story that has so far remained untold. Being an ex-MP, Jafri was a VIP resident and so fearful neighbours began rushing to his house hoping he could pull strings that they couldn’t. Among them was an 18-year-old girl and her brother.

She used Jafri’s landline to make a call for help. Records show she dialled the cell of one Noorkhan Habibkhan Pathan. The Sunday Express tracked down Pathan who said he was her neighbour years ago. ‘‘That was the first call I received in the day. It was a girl named Samshad, whose family used to be my neighbour a few years back. She had called me for help but I told her that I myself am trying save my family. I told her I would not be able to come. I later learnt that she and her brother were killed by the mob.’’

It was from this same landline that Jafri called Badruddin Sheikh, local Congress leader and then chairman of the standing committee of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

Sheikh confirmed that Jafri called him at 11.51 am and then, an hour later, as well.

‘‘The last call I received from Jafrisaab was on my landline which was at about 1 pm. At that time also he was pleading for help,’’ says Sheikh. ‘‘After that I do not know what happened.’’

What is known—and what’s confirmed by cell phone records—is that Sheikh called up then Congress Leader of the Opposition Amarsinh Chaudhary, asking him to help get police deployment.

He called senior police officers, including then Director-General K Chakravarthy, Police Commissioner P C Pande, and Joint Commissioner M K Tandon, who was in charge of the area where Jafri lived.

	WHAT THE POLICE TOLD THE COMMISSION
			Chorus: We sent forces, we don’t know what they were doing DGP Chakravarthy: • ‘‘At 2 pm on February 28, 2002, I learnt that a large mob has surrounded Gulbarg Society. I informed Commissioner Pande. He told me he had sent more officials…as I was busy with other work, I had not inquired as to which officers had been sent and as to when they reached there. ‘‘Later I asked (Pande) why did the incident at Gulbarg happen? He told me the mob was in a large number and the police did what it could but still (it) happened.” Story continues below this ad Police Commissioner P C Pande: • “I sent two DySPs with police force to Gulbarg. I had not asked the sector commander (Tandon) to go as police inspector and DCP rank officers are normally able to control such situations. “I cannot say when the police force sent by me reached Gulbarg Society. I cannot say what the force was doing when people were being burnt. I had not asked for any written report in this regard after the incident.” Joint Commissioner of Police (Sector II) M K Tandon: • ‘‘At about 2 pm, I received a message that there was a need to shift Shri Ehsan Jafri to another place. But I had not gone there immediately. On receiving the message, I called the police control room for sending more forces, but I was informed that two DySPs, a police Inspector and a section of CISF had already been sent there.”

All these officers, deposing at the Nanavati-Shah Commission, kept passing the buck. The DGP was in Gandhinagar, Pande stayed indoors in the Commissionerate (see box).

And all this while, one of the officers was in regular touch with two of the accused in the Naroda massacre that had broken out even as Gulbarg was ablaze.

A close scrutiny of Sheikh’s cellphone log reveals that during the day Sheikh made several calls to Chakravarthy, Pande and then DCP (Zone VI) B S Jebalia within whose jurisdiction Shah Alam falls, the area in which Sheikh lives.

Police Commissioner Pande’s logs reveal that he received calls from the Joint Police Commissioner and P B Gondia, the DCP in charge of Meghnani Nagar, where Gulbarg Society is.

Gondia’s cellphone records, however, show a clear picture of police indifference.

From 11.52, Gondia’s records show, he was in constant touch with two of the riot-accused— VHP general secretary Jaideep Patel and Naroda killing accused Nimesh Patel. And he moved out of Meghaninagar when it was burning to areas from where little violence was reported.

Jaideep Patel was in constant touch with him in the morning. At 2.13 pm, he left Meghaninagar following a call he made to Nimesh Patel.

Though he came back from Naroda to Meghaninagar at 2.46 pm, he left again for Revdi Bazaar where there was no violence.

He returned to Meghaninagar at 4.12 pm, by which time, according to the police, the former Congress MP had been charred to death.

WHO ALL DID BADRUDDIN SHEIKH CALL

February 28, 2002

• 11.23 am: Sheikh calls then DCP (Zone VI) B S Jebalia.

• 11.28 am: Sheikh calls then leader of Opposition Amarsinh Chaudhary and speaks for 122 seconds.

• 11.32 am: Sheikh calls then police commissioner P C Pande and speaks for 41 seconds.

• 11.51 am: Sheikh receives a call from Ehsan Jafri’s residence. By then, Gulbarg has been surrounded by a violent mob. According to the police FIR, the attack on Gulbarg Society started at 11 am and went on till 7 pm.

• 1.11 pm: Sheikh calls Chaudhary.

• 1.48 pm: Sheikh calls then state DGP K Chakravarthy and speaks for 91 seconds.

• 2.01 pm: Sheikh calls Chakravarthy and speaks for 61 seconds.

• 2.04 pm: Sheikh calls DCP Jebalia and speaks for 151 seconds.

• 2.20 pm: Sheikh again calls Jebalia.

• 3.23 pm: Sheikh calls then city mayor Himmatsinh Patel.

• 3.41 pm: Sheikh again calls Patel.

• 4.04 pm: Sheikh calls Pande.

• 5.50 pm: Sheikh calls mayor Patel.

• 6.07 pm: Sheikh calls Chaudhary and speaks for 104 seconds.

• 7.01 pm: Sheikh calls Chakravarthy.

• 7.06 pm: Sheikh calls then joint commissioner of police (sector II) M K Tandon and speaks for 61 seconds.

Meanwhile, what did the police do when Jafri was waiting?

DGP K CHAKRAVARTHY:

• 11.56 pm: Calls up Commissioner Pande and speaks for 56 seconds

• 12.18 pm: Is in Gandhinagar, receives a call from then district collector Srinivas and speaks for 59 seconds

• 1.06 pm: Gets a call from Srinivas

• 1.43 pm: Calls Pande and speaks for 116 seconds

• 1.48 pm: Receives a call from BADRUDDIN SHEIKH, 91 seconds

• 2.01 pm: Another call from SHEIKH

• 2.12 pm: Calls Pande and speaks for 49 seconds

• 3.50 pm: Reaches the city and calls his office at Gandhinagar. (Jafri is suspected to be dead by now)

• 3.51 pm: Receives a call from Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) and speaks for 132 seconds

• 3.55 pm: Reaches Shahibaug and calls Pande

POLICE COMMISSIONER P. C. PANDE

• 11.56 pm: Receives call from DGP

• 12.06 pm: Calls Tandon, speaks for 75 seconds

• 12.37 pm: Receives a call from Tandon. By this time, curfew has been imposed in the city

• 1.21 pm: Gets a call from Mehta

• 1.22 pm: Another call from Tandon

• 1.45 pm: Another call from Chakravarthy, speaks for 116 seconds

• 2.02 pm: Receives a call from Tandon, speaks for 125 seconds

• 2.12 pm: Gets a third call from Chakravarthy

• 2.25 pm: Gets a call from Tandon

• 2.53 pm: Receives a call from then MoS Home Gordhan Zadafia

• 3.09 pm: Receives a call from then state Health Ashok Bhatt

• 3.16 pm: Calls then Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IV) P B Gondia, under whose jurisdiction Gulbarg and Naroda-Patiya localities fall

• 3.38 pm: Mehta calls

• 3.54 pm: Pande calls Gondia

• 3.57 pm: Another call from Mehta

• 3.59 pm: Fourth call from Chakravarthy, who reaches Pande’s office minutes later

(Deposing before the Nanavati-Shah commission, Pande said Jafri was killed between 3 pm and 4 pm)

JCP M K TANDON

• 11.58 am: Calls police control room, speaks for 68 seconds. Has reached Meghaninagar, where Gulbarg Society is, at 11.34 am

• 12.06 pm: Receives a call from Pande. Three minutes later, leaves Meghaninagar area

• 12.11 pm: Reaches Naroda area

• 12.14-12.18 pm: Makes three calls to Pande and one to the police control room at 12.26 pm

• 12.33 pm: Leaves Naroda

• 12.37 pm: Calls Pande

• 12.41 pm: Reaches Bapunagar and calls ACP M T Rana, under whose jurisdiction Meghaninagar and Naroda fall

• 1.06 pm: Calls DCP P B Gondia, speaks for 60 seconds. He is then in Rakhial

• 1.11 pm: Calls then city mayor Himmatsinh Patel, speaks for 78 seconds

• 1.22 pm: Calls Pande, speaks for 54 seconds

• 1.24 pm: Receives a call from police control room

• 1.51 pm: Reaches Revdi Bazaar and Relief Rd

• 1.57 pm: Calls DCP Gondia, speaks for 98 seconds

• 1.59 pm: Receives a call from control room

• 2.02 pm: Calls Pande, speaks for 124 seconds

• 2.25 pm: Calls Pande, speaks for 51 seconds

• 2.52 pm: Calls Mayor Patel, speaks for 145 seconds

• 2.57 pm: Another call from control room

• 3.01 pm: Gets fourth call from control room

• 3.30 pm: Calls Pande, speaks for 72 seconds

• 3.39 pm: Fifth call from control room

• 3.40 pm: Calls his office number at Police Commissionerate

• 4.12 pm: Reaches Commissionerate

• 4.28 pm: Reaches Meghaninagar area

DCP PB GONDIA

• 11.52 am: Receives a call from VHP general secretary and riot-accused Jaideep Patel, speaks for 107 seconds

• 11.56 am: Calls Tandon, moves to Naroda area

• 12.20 pm: Another call from Patel, speaks to him for 42 seconds

• 12.35 pm: Is in Meghaninagar area, returns to Naroda by 12.53 pm

• 12.59 pm: Calls police control room

• Gondia remains in Naroda area till 1.44 pm.

At 1.53 pm, he is in Meghaninagar but returns to Naroda almost immediately. On the way, at 1.57 pm, call from Tandon

• 2.13 pm: Again in Meghaninagar from where he calls Nimesh Patel, an accused in the Naroda killings.Fifteen minutes later, Gondia is in Naroda

• 2.46 pm: Returns to Meghaninagar, calls ACP Rana. Within five minutes, he leaves for Police Commissionerate, reaches by 2.55 pm

• 3.01 pm: Receives a call from Nimesh Patel

• 3.11 pm: Leaves police commissionerate but heads for Revdi Bazaar from where little violence has been reported

• 3.16 pm: Call from Pande

• Remains at Revdi Bazaar till 4.03 and at 4.12 pm reaches Meghaninagar area

PART I

PART II

PART III

PART IV

PART V