SC orders fresh probe into 10 Guj riot cases

GODHRA AND AFTER: The 2002 riots in Gujarat began after a train was torched in Godhra.

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Gujarat government to re-investigate 10 major cases of the 2002 riots by forming a five-member Special Investigative Team (SIT).

The 10 cases relate to rioting in seven places, including Godhra where 81 people were killed, Gulbarga Society where 68 were killed, Naroda Patia where over 100 were killed, Sardarpur where 34 were killed and Best Bakery were 14 burnt alive.

A three-judge bench directed that the SIT submit its report within three months. The SIT would record the statements of those witnesses who have not been examined till now and has the power to recall witnesses.

The five-member SIT team comprises three senior police officers from Gujarat, Gita Johri, Sivananad Jha and Ashish Bhatia, retired Central Bureau of Investigation director R K Raghavan and former DGP C B Satpathy.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat and including Justices P Sathasivam and Aftab Alam said it would pass necessary orders on Wednesday for constituting the SIT.

The court indicated its intention to constitute the SIT after hearing senior lawyer Harish Salve, amicus curiae in the case, and Gujarat Government's senior lawyer Mukul Rohatagi for more then an hour.

The court was hearing a petition filed by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which wants trial in the riots cases to be shifted out of Gujarat and re-investigation by an independent agency like the CBI.

The NHRC had filed the petition after several witnesses turned hostile amidst allegations of threat, coercion and inducement to derail the investigation.

CNN-IBN’s Legal Correspondent Ashok Bagariya reports the Gujarat government did a U-turn before the court on Tuesday. The government had opposing a re-investigation in 10 cases since 2002 but this morning it agreed on the condition that the probe team would have three officers from the Gujarat police.

The NHRC, whose team toured the state after the riots, has alleged the Gujarat police has been biased in its investigation.

Around 2,000 people were killed in the riots of 2002. The riots were sparked off after the Sabarmati Express was set on fire, killing several kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya.

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