NEW DELHI: Without rejecting a single question of the hundred-odd question that the Gujarat riots of 2002 SIT, Narendra Modi as the then Gujarat Chief Minister He “remained calm” throughout the 9-hour interrogation marathon and did not accept a cup of tea from investigators, the head of the investigation team at the time, RK Raghavan, said in a new book.
Modi also readily agreed to go to the SIT office in Gandhinagar for questioning and brought his own bottle of water, Raghavan has written in his autobiography, “A Road Well Traveled.”
Before being asked to head the Supreme Court-appointed SIT that investigated the Gujarat riots in 2002, Raghavan had also served as head of the main investigative agency CBI. He was also involved in various other high-profile investigations over the years, including those related to Bofors scam, the South Africa 2000 cricket match fixing case and the forage scam.
Speaking about the time when the SIT called Modi to question him as the then chief minister of Gujarat, Raghavan writes in the book: “We informed his staff that he had to come in person to the SIT office for this purpose and that they meet with him elsewhere it would be misinterpreted as a favor. ”
“He (Modi) understood the spirit of our position and immediately agreed to come to the SIT office inside the government complex in Gandhinagar,” Raghvan said.
The former police officer further said that he took the “unusual step” of asking Ashok Malhotra, a member of the SIT, to do the questioning, mainly to avoid any “malicious allegations” that he and Modi had reached an agreement.
“This stand was endorsed months later by no less than one person who amicus curiae Harish Hail. He told me that my presence would have vitiated Modi’s statement and robbed him of his credibility, “Raghavan said, adding that he had never consulted Salve before the event.
It was my personal decision that flowed by sheer intuition, said the retired IPS official from the Tamil Nadu cadre, who was also appointed High Commissioner in Cyprus in 2017.
“Modi’s interrogation lasted nine hours in my own chamber at the SIT office. Malhotra later told me that Modi was calm throughout the marathon session that ended late at night,” Raghavan said.
“He (Modi) never stopped the questions. He also didn’t seem to fill in his answers. When Malhotra asked if he would like to take a lunch break, he initially declined the offer. He brought his own bottle of water and said I will not accept a single one. SIT’s cup of tea during the interrogation marathon comprising a hundred questions, ”he said.
Raghavan said “tremendous persuasion” was required for Modi to accept a short recess. “This was possibly Modi’s concession to the need for respite for Malhotra rather than himself. Such was the energy of man.”
In February 2012, the SIT filed a closure report, giving Modi and 63 other people, including senior government officials, a clean fine, saying there was “no actionable evidence” against them.
In the book, the former CBI director also claimed that the SIT investigation into the Gujarat riots ordered by the Supreme Court under his command was “clinical and professional” and the SIT’s “unequivocal position” on the role of the Prime Minister was “unpleasant for him (Modi) adversaries” in the state and in Delhi.
“They designed petitions against me, accusing me of favoring the prime minister. It was said that they misused central agencies to monitor my phone conversations. However, they were disappointed to find nothing incriminating,” he said.
Raghavan said false charges were brought against him secretly to begin with, and then openly.
“Fortunately, the Supreme Court stood by my side and supported me to the hilt. I was seen as an inconvenience because I refused to accept the argument that the state administration was in cahoots with the rioters who were targeting the Muslim community. research was clinical and professional. ” he claimed.
“If I demonstrated a measure of professional insight and objectivity, it was not uncommon due to the excellent help of Ashok Kumar Malhotra, whom I admitted to SIT in 2009,” Raghvan said praising Malhotra, who was asked to supervise the work of the team. after the supreme court allowed Raghavan to be removed from office in 2017.
Without naming anyone, Raghavan said it was unfortunate that he was the target of attack by those instigated by “high-ranking people at the forefront of affairs in Delhi.”
Talking about the Ehsan Jafri In this case, he said there was no record establishing that the congressman had tried to contact the prime minister by phone.
“Some others, including Sanjeev Bhat, had also alleged that the prime minister, in an official meeting late at night on February 28, 2002, had ordered the senior police officers present at the meeting not to intervene if the Hindu emotions were overflowing. Here again, no “It was not corroboration of the accusation,” Raghvan said.
No one whose presence at the meeting was established beyond doubt told SIT that they saw Sanjeev Bhat at the meeting, held essentially to review the law and order situation that emerged from the attack on the Godhra train, he said.
“In our report to the high court, he acquitted the prime minister of alleged illegal targeting of the police,” he said.
Raghavan assumed the position of head of SIT in early 2008 and continued for nine years, until April 30, 2017.
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