Gujarat massacre: court to take up Jafri plea against SIT today

A protest petition filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of 2002 Gujarat roiots victim Ehsan Jafri, is likely to be taken up by an Ahmedabad court today.

Jafri has sought the rejection of the report of the Special Investigation Team closing the investigation into the ghastly Gulbarg Housing Society massacre on 28 February 2002, in which 68 persons including Ehsan, a Congress MP, were burnt alive.

The SIT gave a clean chit to Gujarat chief minister Narandra Modi and most other key accused.

Zakia had filed the petition in the court of metropolitan magistrate B J Ganatra earlier this month. She sought the in toto rejection of the closure report filed by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT on 8 February 2012.

Magistrate BJ Ganatra had ordered the hearing of the case on a daily basis from 24 April.

"It is most likely that SIT will start its argument as it will be opposing our petition," advocate S M Vora, representing Zakia in the case, said.

In her petition, Zakia demanded filing of charge sheet against Modi and 58 others whom she had named in her complaint filed before the Supreme Court on 8 June 2006.

The petition also sought further investigations into the case by an independent agency other than the SIT.

After the SIT submitted its final report, the Supreme Court directed it to file the closure report before a local court in the city and provide all papers to Jafri to enable her to file a protest petition.

Jafri in her petition accused Modi and his Cabinet colleagues, along with Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders, of "hatching a cold-blooded conspiracy to manipulate the post-Godhra riot incidents".

The 514-page petition had been submitted before the court in three volumes of annexures and 10 CDs.

Jafri had also accused the SIT of "covering up" the riot-related crimes and "misleading" the court by letting Modi and others off the hook by conveniently ignoring the evidence at its disposal.