The Hindu : National : Ex-Gujarat intelligence chief alleges political pressure on police

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Wednesday, Sep 01, 2004

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Ex-Gujarat intelligence chief alleges political pressure on police

By Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD, AUG. 31. Former State intelligence wing chief of Gujarat, R.B. Sreekumar, today contradicted earlier reports that police were unaware of the return of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad kar sevaks in the Sabarmati Express on February 27, 2002.

Mr. Sreekumar, who is now the Additional Director-General of Police in-charge of police reforms, was deposing before the Nanvati-Shah inquiry commission.

Mr. Sreekumar claimed that the police department was under instructions from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party bosses not to take any action against Hindus taking "revenge" for the attack by Muslims on the kar sevaks. He disagreed with the contention of the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, and other party leaders that the burning of the train coach could be a pre-planned.

Prior information

Mr. Sreekumar said that from the office records he had come to know that the Western Railway Police had informed the intelligence department about the programme of the kar sevaks as early as February 22.

Contradicting the statement of then Director-General of Police, K. Chakravarthy, that the State police had no information about the return of kar sevaks by the Sabarmati Express on that day, Mr. Sreekumar said the Western Railway police had faxed the information to the Intelligence Wing that kar sevaks from Mehsana in north Gujarat would be returning by the train on February 27 or 28.

Asked what action was taken on the intelligence input, he said he was not aware and only the then intelligence chief, G.C. Raigar, would be competent to answer the question. He, however, said that the report of the Uttar Pradesh police, which Mr. Chakravarthy had referred to in his affidavit, was late in sending the report about the kar sevaks' programme. The Uttar Pradesh police had sent the report on February 27 and it was received by the State police only on February 28 when the damage had been done.

Mr. Sreekumar also said that the police was under "severe pressure" from the Sangh Parivar outfits not to take any action against the Hindu attackers. He claimed that he had found many of the police officers and lower-rung staff depressed and handicapped and they were found taking orders not from their own superiors but "directly from the political leaders of the ruling party."

He, however, declined to reveal the names of the "political bosses" and said these had been given to him by his "sources" in confidence and would not be willing to jeopardise their career by revealing the names.

`Conspiracy' theory

On the question of the attack on the train being "pre-planned," he said during his tenure in the Intelligence Wing, he had not found anything on record which could lead to the "conspiracy" theory. He said if the clash was impromptu, obviously there would be nothing on the intelligence records. He, however, said the intelligence department had inputs that the fundamentalists among the Muslims had been "itching" for some attacks on Hindus for the alleged "atrocities" against them.

Mr. Sreekumar said it was only after K.P.S. Gill became the security advisor to the Chief Minister did the communal riots come under control. Mr. Gill had acted on his intelligence report against some of the then senior police officers whose transfers only helped in improving the law and order situation.

He said he had sent the same report to the Chief Minister and the Union Home Ministry but no action was taken on it following which he called on Mr. Gill and discussed its contents in detail in June that year following which the transfers were affected.

Mr. Sreekumar's cross-examination was completed today and the commission is scheduled to resume its sittings from September 25.

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