Burnt paper

Almost a decade later,the questions that were raised about the degree of involvement of officials of the Gujarat state government in the riots of 2002 should surely have made some progress towards answers. Several commissions have been set up to inquire into the matter; the Supreme Court itself has taken a stand; and the state government has tried to develop a reputation for efficiency and transparency which means it should privilege the ability to hold itself to account. Its disturbing,therefore,that the state government which has been consistently re-elected since 2002 should have told one of those commissions of inquiry,the Nanavati Commission,that all official documents from the period had already been destroyed: As per general government rules the telephone call records,vehicle log book,the officers movement diary are destroyed after a certain period. The state intelligence bureau records were also destroyed in 2007.

These documents would speak to the movement and activities of senior police officers during the riots. The atmosphere has been particularly charged,since these documents would be crucial evidence linking Chief Minister Narendra Modi and his lieutenant Amit Shah with police action and inaction; Sanjiv Bhatt,who had been a senior police officer in the state Intelligence Bureau at the time,had alleged that Modi had told the police to let Hindu anger play itself out on the streets. The state government has attacked his credibility,with its lawyer telling him that speaking of the CM thus was crossing the line.

The Nanavati Commission was set up in 2002. The records were destroyed in 2007. It seems worrying,to say the least,that no commissions of inquiry have examined these documents yet. And the fact that a state government that knew the period was under investigation would destroy these documents is going to raise questions. Every time Narendra Modi,his government,and his party think the shadow of 2002 will go away for ever,some act or action of theirs seems to bring it back.