Gandhinagar, August 1o: Congress on Tuesday demanded that all riot-related cases of 2002 in Gujarat be immediately transferred out of the State, in the wake of fresh reports of “collusion between the government of Gujarat and the lawyers for the riot accused.”
Party spokesperson Manish Tewari pointed out that action so far had been seen only in those cases that had been heard outside Gujarat, even as he accused the Narendra Modi government of victimising IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt for filing a Public Interest Litigation petition. He alleged that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had leaked information on the investigation of the riots to a State law officer.
‘Lawyers in cahoots with State’
“There is complete collusion between the government of Gujarat and the lawyers of the riot accused,” Mr. Tewari said, adding, “We demand that all riot-related cases be immediately transferred out of the State.”
He also expressed the hope that the Supreme Court would take “serious note of this miscarriage of justice and obstruction to the legal process,” and take cognisance of the “victimisation of Mr. Bhatt” by the Gujarat government. He pointed out that there was apprehension that efforts had also been made to “reach out to the SIT chief”.
Mr. Bhatt, who has been locked in a public confrontation with the Gujarat government over the 2002 post-Godhra riots, was suspended on Monday on the grounds that his conduct was unbecoming of an IPS officer.
–Agencies