Gujarat riots SIT ignored evidences, says top cop

Former Gujarat Director General of Police R B Sreekumar alleged the Special Investigation Team, which reportedly gave a clean chit to Chief Minister Narendra Modi in post-Godhra riot cases, of not considering "evidences" provided by him and indicated he might approach the Supreme Court on the matter.

"None of the evidences provided by me have been considered by the SIT for reasons known to it," Sreekumar told a meet-the-press programme organised by Press Club in Thiruvananthapuram.

Reacting to reports that the Supreme Court appointed SIT headed by former CBI Director R K Raghavan had found no proof of Modi's complicity in the 2002 violence, Sreekumar, who was then the state intelligence chief, said the leaked information was "credible".

Sreekumar, who had submitted six affidavits to the panel in connection with the riots cases, alleged the SIT functioned as a "B" team of Gujarat police. He said 35 pages of "evidences" on what happened during the riots in 2002 was submitted to the SIT, which chose to ignore the same.

Alleging that SIT did not follow the procedures, the former Gujarat DGP said that he was consulting lawyers on the possibility of approaching Supreme Court on the matter.

The SIT had submitted its report to apex court on allegations levelled by the wife of former Congress MP Zakia Jaffery that Modi and his close aides aided and abetted the post-Godhra carnage in which her husband was killed.

Replying to a question, Sreekumar said it was not proper to discredit the NGO run by social activist Teesta Setalvad fighting for the riot victims.

Referring to WikiLeaks recent exposure that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) had planned to assassinate Modi, Sreekumar said "Modi is a threatened person".

The threat of LeT was very much there, Sreekumar, who had held various positions in the Gujarat police, said.