Nanavati panel gives clean chit to then CM Modi in Guj riots

The Nanavati Commission has given a clean chit to the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi-led government in the 2002 riots in the state where over 1,000 people, mostly of the minority community, were killed.

The commission's report was tabled in the Gujarat Assembly by Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja on Wednesday, five years after it was submitted to the then government and 17 years after the riots shook the state.

The panel, comprising former Supreme Court Justice G T Nanavati and former Gujarat High Court Justice Akshay Mehta, in its report observed that police at some places were ineffective in controlling the mob because of their inadequate numbers or because they were not properly armed.

"There is no evidence to show that these attacks were either inspired or instigated or abated by any minister of the state," the commission said in its voluminous report.

The commission was appointed in 2002 by the then state chief minister Narendra Modi to probe the riots, that took place after the burning of two coaches of Sabarmati Express train near Godhra railway station, in which 59 'karsevaks' were killed.

"On an overall consideration of the entire material, the commission finds that the communal riots which followed the Godhra incident were really by way of an aftermath of that incidents," the report said.

It was because of the Godhra incident that large sections of Hindu community became very angry and ultimately indulged in violent attacks on Muslims and their properties," it said.

The commission also said that it did not find any evidence against "any religious or political party or organisations as such" in connection with the riots.

"The only thing that can be said with some certainty, on the basis of evidence which has come before the commission, is that local members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal took part in the incidents which happened in their localities," it said.

The panel said the post-Godhra riots that spread out in the state were "not a pre-planned conspiracy or orchestrated violence".

There is no substance in allegations against state authorities turning a blind eye to post-Godhra riots, it said.

The commission also questioned the credibility of three former IPS officers -- Sanjiv Bhatt, Rahul Sharma and R B Sreekumar -- who had alleged that there was role of the state government in the riots.

After close scrutiny of the evidence, it is not possible to say that there was any negligence on the part of police, it noted.

However, it is very much necessary the state has a disciplined police force to ensure that peace and tranquility of the society is not disturbed, it added.

"While considering the evidence relating to the incidents which happened during the communal riots, we have noticed that the absence of police or their inadequate number emboldened the mobs to indulge in violence," it said.

On some communal riot incidents in Ahmedabad city, the commission said, "The police had not shown their competence and eagerness which was necessary."