Gujarat violence

Gujarat violence

In February 2002 violence broke out across the state claiming around 1000 lives. Independent estimates by human rights groups and NGOs place the figure higher to around 2000. The official estimate stated that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed, 223 people were reported missing and 2,500 were injured.^[21] The root cause of riots was attributed to the Godhra Train Burning incident in which 58 Hindu Kar Sevaks were burnt alive by an alleged Muslim mob.^[22][23] The Banerjee committee, set up by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad in September 2004, in its report submitted in 2005 had said the burning of S-6 coach of Sabarmati express on 27 February 2002 was an accident started by people cooking food in the railway car and said there was no Muslim involvement.^[24][25] Banerjee commission was declared illegal by Gujarat High Court. The Nanavati Commission however termed the Sabarmati express incident as a 'pre-planned conspiracy' and gave a clean chit to Mr. Modi^[26] In December 2010, a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in its report to the Supreme Court seeking answers pertaining to the Ehsan Jafri case, submitted that they had found no evidence against Narendra Modi.^[27] However in February 2011, leaks from a new SIT report on the riots arrived which some sources claim indicted Modi on complicity in the Gujarat riots of 2002.^[28] Other sources claim he was given a "clean chit" by the agency.^[29]. The Bharatiya Janata Party demandad an investigation into the leaks, claiming the Indian National Congress-dominated government had "a role in the publication of the media reports to divert attention from a myriad of problems the government faced."^[30]