Gujarat’s ex-IPS officer DG Vanzara has echoed the far right wing bogie that “Hindus are in danger”, and “demanded” in his recent speech in Gandhinagar on Thursday (December 23) that “India be declared a Hindu rashtra by establishing dharma satta (reign of religion).” According to a report by Deccan Herald, he claimed that “next 25 years are very dangerous”, and added that “till India remains a secular state, Hindus will never be able to become owners of this country like Christians and Muslims, who have their own countries, which are ruled according to their religion. Hindus are in great difficulties even today. Take example of Kashmir from where they were chased away and West Bengal and Assam, where Hindus are not safe. Even in a state like Gujarat, Hindus are not safe.”

Vanzara, who had spent nearly eight years in jail charge sheeted and implicated in the extra-judicial killings of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and student, Ishrat Jahan, before being discharged by the trial court, made these statements while speaking at a religious function “Dharmasatta Mahakumbh” was organised by an organisation called “Guru Vandana Manch” in sector 28 in state capital Gandhinagar. It was attended by leaders of different Hindu sects who had come along with thousands of people from different parts of the state. Vanzara said that Rashtra Vandana Manch has held numerous meetings in the past two years, bringing the religious leaders together for “establishing dharma satta in the country.” It is not insignificant that on the eve of Christmas, several such “events” have made this shrill war cry.

Who is DG Vanzara?

On May 2, 2019, a special CBI court in Ahmedabad discharged former police officers NK Amin and DG Vanzara in the Ishrat Jahan alleged fake encounter case. Amin and Vanzara had filed pleas seeking that proceedings against them be dropped after the Gujarat government did not grant the CBI sanction to prosecute them. Judge JK Pandya of the CBI court stated that since the government had denied sanction, the former police officers’ pleas were allowed, and that proceedings against them would be dropped. On June 15, 2004, Ishrat Jahan, a 19-year-old student, along with three others, were killed in an alleged fake encounter by members of the Gujarat Police outside Ahmedabad. The police had claimed that they were plotting to kill then Gujarat chief minister, Narendra Modi.

Now Vanzara’s speech has begun to sound like the recent communal speeches made at the recent ‘Dharma Sansad’ at Haridwar that gave a stage for Hindutva ‘leaders’ to spew hate speech and call for communal violence. Now, Vanzara claimed that Independence itself was “harmful” and reportedly said, “What 1,200 years of rule of outsiders like Turkish, Mughals and Britishers couldn’t do, the last 75 years of independence has done to harm the Hindus… At the time of Independence, three states – Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya – had 100 per cent Hindu population but after the independence, they turned into Christian-dominated states.”

However, Vanzara who was promoted as Inspector General of Police in 2020, six years after his retirement while languishing in jail, reportedly “clarified” that what he was saying shouldn’t be read as “communal” or “hatred” for anyone. According to news reports he threw in some numbers to back his claim and said, “in 1947, India’s population was 48 crore, of which 8 crore were Muslims. The 8 crore weighed heavily on 40 crore. Of them, five crore went to Pakistan and three crore remained here. Today, they are 23 crore. It is noteworthy to think what will happen now…the next 25 years is dangerous.”

Vanzara added that. “one billion Hindus can’t bank on only raj satta. It is not a Hindu regime… it is secular and doesn’t belong to Hindus…in secular raj satta, Hindus can’t have their own nation…therefore, we have to strive for a Hindu Rashtra, a Hindu Gantantra (republic)…” he claimed that the world has over “100 Christian countries, over 50 Muslim countries and even a handful of Jews have their own nation, Israel. But, 100 crore Hindus don’t have a single country of their own.”

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Per Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), prior sanction from the government must be obtained to prosecute a public servant, judge, or magistrate who “is accused of any offence alleged to have been committed by him while acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty”.

The Hindu noted that although the CBI did not take a stand on the government’s decision, Shamima Kauser, the mother of Ishrat Jahan, filed an application challenging the Gujarat government’s refusal to grant sanction to prosecute the two police officials in question, in late March. On March 19, the government had refused sanction, with the CBI producing a letter from the state government saying that the sanction was denied for “larger public interest,” and that “….from records placed by CBI, it transpires that the deceased Ishrat Jahan was member of Lashak-e- Toiba… Lahore-based Ghazwa Times, mouthpiece of Lashkar-e-Toiba, had claimed her as woman activist of the Lashakar-e-Toiba,” the Deccan Herald reported. Kauser’s application noted that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Gujarat High Court “unanimously concluded that it was not a genuine encounter and that Ishrat Jahan and three others were first abducted, held in illegal confinement and then murdered in cold blood, by officers and men of the Gujarat police including the present applicant and others” in its final report.

On March 26, Vanzara and Amin filed an application seeking the abandoning of charges against them, given the Gujarat government’s refusal to grant sanction. In a submission made through her lawyer, Vrinda Grover, Kauser argued that Amin’s and Vanzara’s pleas were “untenable in law and unsustainable on facts,” and that the Gujarat government was not the appropriate authority to deny sanction, The Hindu reported, adding that Kauser contended that the refusal constituted “interference with the administration of justice.” Kauser argued that Section 197 did not apply to a case related to “abduction, confinement and and murder,” grave crimes that did not fall within the scope of the officers’ official duty. Vanzara’s lawyer, VD Gajjar, contended that the court could not determine the validity of the Gujarat government’s order, and that judicial findings in the case had demonstrated that there was no “fake encounter,” The Hindu reported.

Ishrat Jahan was a 19-year-old student from Mumbra, near Mumbai. She, along with three others, were killed in an alleged fake encounter by members of the Gujarat Police outside Ahmedabad in June 2004. The police had claimed that the four were plotting to kill then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Before the encounter, Shamima Kausar had then filed a complaint alleging that the Gujarat Police had abducted her daughter and the others.
 

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The Bombay High Court dismissed all pleas against the discharge against accused police officers in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case. It upheld the discharge granted by a trial court to ex-Gujarat ATS chief D.G. Vanzara and four others, all of them police officers from Gujarat and Rajasthan on Monday.
 
Bombay HC justice AM Badar held that the applications challenging the discharge were devoid of merit and granted relief to former IPS officers Vanzara, Rajkumar Pandian and N.K. Amin of the Gujarat police, and Dinesh M.N. and Dalpat Singh Rathod of the Rajasthan Police.
 
The Central Bureau of Investigation had booked 38 people in the “fake” encounters of Sohrabuddin Shaikh, his wife Kausar Bi in 2005 and their aide Tulsiram Prajapati in 2006.
 
“A single Bench of Justice AM Badar was hearing the bunch of petitions filed by Sohrabuddin’s brother Rubabuddin Shaikh challenging a lower court’s orders discharging Mr. Vanzara, then Deputy Inspector General of Police, Anti Terrorism Squad, and Mr. Dinesh from the case. The CBI also challenged the discharge of Rajasthan police constable Dalpat Singh Rathod and Gujarat police officer Dr. Narendra Amin,” The Hindu reported.
 
On discharging Mr. Dinesh, the court had said, “Considering the quality of material on record against him and taking into consideration entire prosecution story, to my mind, it is clear that there is no prima facie material against him to connect him to killing of Sohrabuddin and Prajapati much less as one of the conspirator,” the report said.
 
“Between August 2016 and September 2017, a special court in Mumbai, where the case was shifted from Gujarat following a Supreme Court order, discharged 15 of these 38 accused. Those discharged included 14 police officials and BJP president Amit Shah,” reported The Wire.
 
“Expressing his displeasure over today’s order, Rubabuddin Shaikh told The Wire that he expected better from the high court. “There was direct evidence against Pandian and Dinesh. These guys have played a direct role in the abduction of my brother and Tulsi Prajapati. The chargesheet clearly lists out the chain of events, the call data records and independent witnesses whose statements were taken by the CBI. I am surprised how the court did not take this into consideration and only looked at the witnesses who are turning hostile in the CBI trial court,” Rubabuddin said.
 
“Rubabuddin, who is also a witness in his brother’s murder trial and is yet to depose in the case, said he was served with a summon through a WhatsApp message in the first week of July and since he had met with a road accident, he could not make it to court. “The CBI too has shown no interest in ensuring that justice is delivered in the case. Like other witnesses, I too am under a tremendous pressure. I have received both veiled and direct threats to my life. Several attempts were made to physically harm me over the past year. If the condition does not improve, I might have to drop out from appearing before the court,” he added in the report.
 
“On November 23, 2005, Sohrabuddin, a local gangster, was travelling on a Hyderabad-Sangli bus along with his wife Kausar Bi and his trusted lieutenant Prajapati when they were allegedly abducted by a team of policemen attached to Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorism Squad and members of the Special Task Force from Rajasthan. The couple was allegedly detained at a private farm house near Gandhinagar and two days later, Sheikh was killed allegedly in a fake encounter. Kausarbi and Tulsiram too were later killed. The case was transferred to Mumbai on the orders of the Supreme Court,” The Hindu reported.
 

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A CBI court on Tuesday, August 1, discharged controversial police officer DG Vanzara and MN Dinesh in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case. Vanzara, now retired, was the then Gujarat ATS chief. Dinesh, an IPS officer, was with the Rajasthan Police. The total number of accused discharged by the court now stands at 15. Vanzara, considered close to the coterie of then chief minister, Narendra Modi has had a colourful past, especially after his arrest in 2007. 

On Monday, July 31, the court rejected the discharge application of two Rajasthan police officers Himanshu Singh and Shyam Singh Charan. The two police sub-inspectors are accused in the case and were then part of the Rajasthan police. Significantly, the CBI had opposed their discharge, submitting before the court that they were among the main accused and that they were accused of firing shots at Sheikh. In december 2015, doing a U-Turn on its own earlier charge sheet, the CBI had filed for discharge of BJP president, Amit Shah, who was also one of the accused in this case.

Also read: CBI U-Turn against its own chargesheet in the Sohrabuddin case, the caged parrot syndrome?

Now, a special court in Mumbai is hearing the case after the Supreme Court ordered for the trial to be transferred out of Gujarat.  The discharge plea of some of the accused is still pending, after which the trial will begin in the case. A total of 38 persons were named as accused in the case initially.

In November 2005, Sheikh, along with his wife Kausarbi and associate Tulsiram Prajapati, was travelling in a Sangli-bound bus from Hyderabad. A police team chased the bus and forced the three to alight and took them to Ahmedabad, where they were eventually killed. The CID had alleged that it was made to appear that Sheikh was escaping, while he was shot at by cops.

DG Vanzara, had in 2013 written a sensational ten page open letter to Amit Shah and Narendra Modi while still in jail. Top cop of the Gujarat Police, DG Vanzara, who was then an accused in fake encounter cases in the state, resigned. In his resignation letter, Mr Vanzara has indicted former Gujarat Home Minister Amit Shah, a key aide of Chief Minister Narendra Modi. He has also slammed Mr Modi.

Read: Jailed top cop Vanzara’s letter, in which he slams Narendra Modi, Amit Shah

Background:
In December, 2005 Rubabuddin Shaikh wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of India complaining about the killing of his brother Sohrabuddin and the disappearance of his sister in law Kauser Bi at the hands of the Gujarat Police, the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the Rajasthan Police.  The Court forwarded the letter to the Director General of Police for an enquiry. During the pendency of the enquiry Tulsiram Prajapati, a witness to the abduction of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kauser Bi was, also  killed in an encounter (extra-judicial killing). Rubabuddin approached the Supreme Court seeking a CBI investigation. That is how the court monitored investigations into this extra judicial killing.

The Supreme Court first asked the Gujarat Police to investigate the matter. Certain police officers (prominently, Vanzara), were arrested. Charge sheets were filed and eight Action Taken Reports were produced before the Supreme Court by the State of Gujarat. Unsatisfied, the Supreme Court in 2010 came to the following conclusion:

“From the above factual discrepancies appearing in the 8 Action Taken Reports and from the Charge Sheet we therefore feel that the Police Authorities of the State of Gujarat had failed to carry out fair and impartial investigation as we initially wanted them to do.” The Supreme Court directed the CBI to carry out the investigation including on the issue of a larger conspiracy. The CBI started investigating the case and, on the basis of call records of the police officials and other evidence, submitted a chargesheet on 23.7.2010 in which Amit Shah was named as a co-conspirator. The chargesheet states that Amit Shah was the lynchpin in the conspiracy. Amit Shah was arrested. On 29.10.2010 Amit Shah was granted bail by the Gujarat High Court, The CBI appealed to the Supreme Court against this order. The bail was not cancelled but Amit Shah was asked to not enter Gujarat.

In its charge sheet, the CBI claimed that Amit Shah presided over an extortion racket and that it was under his pressure and at his behest that the Gujarat police tried to cover up his involvement in the killings. Phone records of the police officials at the time of killings of Sohrabuddin, Kauser Bi and Tulsi Prajapati were used to show that these police officers were in constant touch with Amit Shah. The trial was transferred to Mumbai. Subsequently, Amit Shah filed a Discharge Application in the Sessions Court at Mumbai. 

This story in the Outlook traces the queer route that the case took once the Modi regime swept to power in Delhi in May 2014.

The Amit Shah Files :Even before the trial is concluded, a CBI court finds reason to discharge a powerful man

The entire trajectory of the Sohrabuddin case may be read here:

Sohrabuddin Case File
 

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यह क्लीपिंग यहां पढ़ी जा सकती। भाषण का वीडियो भी यहां देखा जा सकता है। यह वीडियो शिकायत के साथ नत्थी किया गया है। इसकी एक कॉपी सबरंगइंडिया के पास है।

1 अक्टूबर को शिकायत दर्ज कराने में नाकाम रहने के बाद लतीफ ने 3 अक्टूबर को एक बार फिर कोशिश की। इस बार भी नाकाम रहे। पुलिस कमिश्नर शिवानंद झा के दफ्तर में वंजारा के खिलाफ शिकायत दर्ज कराने की उनकी कोशिश बेकार गई। वंजारा के खिलाफ भारतीय दंड संहिता की धारा 153 (सी) और धारा 295 (सी) के तहत जो शिकायत तैयार की गई है। उसे यहां पढ़ा जा सकता है।

शिकायत में कहा गया है कि मदरसे पैगंबर की शरीयत के मुताबिक चलाए जाते हैं और ये इस्लाम की शिक्षा देते हैं। इस्लाम शांति का धर्म है। फर्जी मुठभेड़ों के आरोपी रहे वंजारा ने जानबूझ कर अपने भाषण मे ऐसे लफ्जों का इस्तेमाल किया है, जो मुस्लिमों के खिलाफ हिंसा भड़काए और नफरत पैदा करे।

लतीफ कहते हैं कि पिछले शनिवार को जब वह वंजारा की शिकायत करने वेजलपुर थाने पहुंचे तो उन्हें डराया-धमकाया गया और कहा गया कि पूर्व डीआईजी के खिलाफ शिकायत दर्ज कराने की उनकी हिम्मत कैसे हुई। इस पर लतीफ ने दलील दी कि सुप्रीम कोर्ट के निर्देश के मुताबिक अगर किसी लोकसेवक (पब्लिक सर्वेंट) ने कोई अपराध किया है तो किसी भी नागरिक को उसके खिलाफ शिकायत दर्ज कराने का अधिकार है। भले ही वंजारा लोकसेवक के पद से रिटायर क्यों न हो चुके हों। लतीफ शिकायत दर्ज कराने पर अड़े रहे लेकिन उन्हें थाने से निकाल दिया गया।

वंजारा के खिलाफ कम से तीन आपराधिक मामलों में चार्जशीट दाखिल हो चुके हैं। पिछले सप्ताह उन्होंने जो भड़काऊ और नफरत भरा भाषण दिया था उसका वीडियो यहां देखा जा सकता है।

इस वीडियो में वंजारा जो कह रहे हैं वह इस तरह है-

हमारे लिए पाकिस्तान से आए आतंकवादियों के गिरेबान तक ही पहुंचना काफी नहीं है। हमें अलगाववादियों के गिरेबानों तक भी पहुंचना होगा। हमें हुर्रियत कांफ्रेंस के लोगों को भी पकड़ना होगा। उनके लिए जेल ही मुफीद जगह है।

आतंकवादी और अलगाववादियों के अलावा यहां अतिवादी भी हैं। ये अतिवादी मदरसों में पैदा किए जाते हैं। मदरसे ऐसे नर्क हैं जहां राष्ट्रविरोधी और आतंकवादी गतिविधियां चलाई जाती हैं। ये मदरसे आतंकवादी पैदा करने की फैक्टिरयां हैं। ये धोखेबाजों और राष्ट्रविरोधी ताकतों के अड्डे हैं और अरब साम्राज्य का ढांचा तैयार कर रहे हैं।

जब तक मोहम्मद बिन कासिम ने हमला नहीं किया था तब तक अफगानिस्तान से इंडोनेशिया तक सिर्फ हिंदू थे। अब कश्मीर में एक भी हिंदू (हिंदू मुक्त कश्मीर) नहीं है।

पाकिस्तान के खिलाफ तत्काल युद्ध घोषित कर दिया जाना चाहिए। साथ ही भारत की जमीन खासकर मदरसों में पलने वाले अलगाववादियों और आतंकियों को मिटा  डालना चाहिए।

वंजारा को फर्जी मुठभेड़ के मामलों में 2007 को गिरफ्तार किया गया था और वह आठ साल तक जेल में रहा। (इसमें से एक दिन उसने मुंबई की जेल में बिताया था)। इस साल फरवरी में उसे जमानत मिल गई थी। जिस दिन उसे जमानत पर रिहा किया गया उस दिन उसने नरेंद्र मोदी के नारे अच्छे दिन आएंगे की तर्ज पर कहा अच्छे दिन आ गए। गुजरात का यह पूर्व डीआईजी गुजरात में 2002 से चले आए फर्जी पुलिस मुठभेड़ कांडों का प्रमुख आरोपी रहा है।

बहरहाल, इस साल 6 जुलाई को वंजारा के बेटे अर्जुन को गुजरात के एंटी करप्शन ब्यूरो ने 75000 रुपये की रिश्वत लेते गिरफ्तार कर लिया था। उसे सस्पेंड कर दिया गया था। अर्जुन वड़ोदरा ग्रामीण इलाके में मामलातदार (एक्जीक्यूटिव मजिस्ट्रेट) था। उसने अपने मातहत मामलातदार जसवंतसिन्ह दशरथसिन्ह हजूरी की साथ मिलकर जमीन के एक मामले में मनमाफिक फैसला सुनाने के लिए एक लाख रुपये की रिश्वत की मांग की थी।  

इस साल मार्च में वंजारा ने एक के बाद एक कई विवादास्पद ट्वीट किए। और मुगलों की संतानों को भारत छोड़ने को कहा। सबरंगइंडिया ने इस पर दाह्याजी गोबरजी वंजारा (डीजी वंजारा) शीर्षक से एक स्टोरी की थी। उसने अपने ट्वीट में कहा कि न सिर्फ किताबों से मुगलों को हटाया जाए और जो उनके वंशज होने का नकली दावा करतें उन्हें भी भारत से भगा दिया जाए।

गुजरात में वंजारा का सिक्का अब भी किस तरह से चल रहा है इसका अंदाजा पीपी पांडे के डीजीपी की नियुक्ति से चल जाता है। पीपी पांडे पर 15 अप्रैल को सीबीआई जांच (हाई कोर्ट की निगरानी में चल रहे मुकदमे के तहत)  के तहत आर्म्स एक्ट, अपहरण, गलत ढंग से गिरफ्तारी कर रखने और चार लोगों की पूर्व नियोजित हत्याके के मामले में चार्जशीट दाखिल किया गया है। अब यही पीपी पांडे गुजरात का डीजीपी बन चुका है। इस पद पर नियुक्ति से पहले वह गुजरात में एक दशक बाद घुस रहे वंजारा के स्वागत समारोह में शामिल हुए थे। शोहराबुद्दीन शेख और इशरत जहां फर्जी मुठभेड़ कांड के आरोपी वंजारा को हाल ही में सीबीआई के स्पेशल कोर्ट में गुजरात प्रवेश की अनुमति दी है। नरेंद्र मोदी में सत्ता में आने के बाद इस तरह की कई दागी पुलिस अफसरों को अचानक छोड़े जाने पर चौतरफा सवाल उठे हैं।  

वंजारा के खिलाफ सबसे कड़ी टिप्पणी अक्षरधाम मामले में सुप्रीम कोर्ट के फैसले में की गई है। यह फैसला 16 मई 2014 में सुनाया गया था। कोर्ट ने अक्षरधाम हमले के मामले में गलत लोगों को बतौर आरोपी बनाने के खिलाफ डी जी वंजारा को कड़ी फटकार लगाई थी। सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने कहा था मामले में डी जी वंजारा कभी भी अभियोजन के पक्ष में गवाह के तौर पर पेश नहीं हुआ। सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने मामले में जो लापरवाही की थी, उसे नजरअंदाज करने वाली निचली अदालतों के रवैये पर भी टिप्पणी की थी। हमले के आरोपी करार दिए गए लोगों के वकीलों का कहना था कि उनका बयान इसके एक साल बाद लिए गए। सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने कहा कि साफ लापरवाही हुई है। सर्वोच्च अदालत ने कहा- इस मामले में जांच शुरू करने के आदेश से लेकर राज्य की ओर से इनकी अनुमति देने तक लापरवाही की गई है। जब नागरिकों के अधिकारों का इस पैमाने पर उल्लंघन हो रहा हो तो हम हाथ पर हाथ धरे बैठे नहीं रह सकते। हमले के असली अभियुक्तों के पकड़ने के बजाय पुलिस ने निर्दोष लोगों पकड़ कर सजा दिलवाई।

( आदमभाई, सुलेमान भाई अजमेरी और अन्य बनाम गुजरात राज्य के मुकदमे में सुप्रीम कोर्ट का फैसले का अंश)

The post मदरसों और आतंकवाद पर भड़काऊ भाषण के आरोप में वंजारा के खिलाफ शिकायत appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image: Indian Express / India Today

Thereafter, Latif tried yesterday, on October 3, again unsuccessfully, to register the FIR at the office of the police commissioner, Shivanand Jha in Ahmedabad. A copy of the complaint registered under sections 153 (c) and 295 (c) of the Indian Penal Code may be read here. The complainant has stated that Madrassahs are run according to the Shariah of the Prophet and are involved in teaching of Islam, which is a religion of peace.Vanzara, who is an accused in fake encounter cases, has deliberately uttered such words so that it incites violence against Muslims and engenders hatred towards Muslims, says the complaint.

Latif says that when he went to the Vejalpur station to register the complaint on Saturday, the local officer and inspector sought to intimidate and terrorise him asking how he dared register a complaint against a police officer! When he held his ground and said that the Supreme Court had ruled that a citizen had a right to lodge a case against a public servant if an offence was committed–and here was one who had retired anyway—they shunted him out of the police station.

A video of the inciteful and controversial speech made by a former senior police officer, charge sheeted in at least three criminal cases can be heard here.

In this video, the police officer, former DIC DG Vanzara, controversially says,

“It is not enough to get at the terrorists from Pakistan (antankwadi)…":DG Vanzara

"We must get at the separatists (alagwadi) also. The Hurriyat Conference. Their place is not outside but in jail”: DG Vanzara
 
“Apart from the terrorists and separatists, there are the antimwadis (extremists). These ‘antimwadis’ are bred in Madrassahs. Madrassahs are dens of hell where anti-national and terrorist activities are carried out”: DG Vanzara
 
“These Madrassahs are factories that breed/manufacture terrosim”: DG Vanzara
 
“These Madrassahs that are centres of traitors and anti-nationals and terrorists are furthering the designs of the Arab Empire”: DG Vanzara
 
“Until Mohammad Bin Qasim invaded India, from Afghanistan to Indonesia there were only Hindus. Now there is not a single Hindu in Kashmir (Hindu mukt Kashmir): DG Vanzara
 
“War must be declared against Pakistan and war must be declared now. At the same time, the separatists and extremists on Indian soil—especially those bred in Madrassahs must also be acted upon and eliminated”: DG Vanzara
 
Vanzara who was arrested in 2007 and was in jail for eight years (out of which he spent one day in Mumbai jail) until he got bail on February 2016. Notoriously, the day he was released on bail in 2016 he echoed Narendra Modi’s election campaign slogan “Acche Din Ayenge” The former DIG was prime accused in the police encounter cases in Gujarat since 2002. On release on bail, he had said “… acche din aa gaye (good days have arrived),” referring to his release in Ahmedabad while addressing the press before flying to Mumbai, where he is to be based, as part of the court’s bail conditions
 
Just day before yesterday, the Gujarat police had finally suspended his son, Arjun who had been arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, on July 6 this year for accepting a bribe of Rs. 75,000. Arjun Vanzara was a mamlatdar (executive magistrate) posted in Vadodara rural. He along with his deputy mamlatdar Jashvantsinh Dashrathsinh Hajuri had allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs1 lakh from the complainant “to order in favour of complainant’s land matter.”
 
On March 6 this year, Vanzara had in a series of controversial tweets, asked the ‘sons of Mughals to quit India. Sabrangindia had carried the story that read, "Dahyaji Gobarji Vanzara  (DG Vanzara) former Deputy Inspector General, Gujarat, jailed from 2007 until 2015 on charges of having conducted a series of extra-judicial murders (encounters) while heading the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), has done it again. In a tweet a few days ago (screen shot below) he has said that not only should Mughals be removed from Books, endorsing the twitter hashtag #removemughalsfrombooks but he has gone several steps further. He says not only Mughals from books, but “those who fictitiously claim to be their descendants should be removed from India.”

That he is a man favoured by the entire regime in Gujarat is clear from the fact that on April 15, director general of police, PP Pandey, himself, charge-sheeted by the CBI in a High Court monitored investigation, for offences under the Arms Act and for offences of abduction, wrongful confinement, and premeditated murder of four persons, was –in utter disregard for due process of law—appointed as acting DGP, Gujarat. Before his appointment to a powerful post, Pandey had attended the “"welcome ceremony" for DG Vanzara, re-entering Gujarat after close to a decade. The retired DIG accused in both the Ishrat Jahan and Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter killings was recently allowed by a special CBI court to enter Gujarat. Vanzara’s prejudicial outlook that, under law, constitutes hate speech was recently visible on social media when he asked “Sons of Mughals to Quit India.”

The sudden discharge of several senior policemen after the Modi regime came to power in Delhi has generated question and criticism.

The worst possible indictment of DG Vanzara was, however in the judgement of the Supreme Court in the Akshardham case (judgement delivered on May 16, 2014.

Para 65: It was contended by the learned senior counsel that PW-126 stated that his senior officer D.G Vanzara, had orally told him that PW-50 was aware of ³² (2002) 1 SCC 351³³ (2002) 2 SCC 426³⁴ (2000) 4 SCC 515 the details of the conspiracy, but D.G. Vanzara was never produced as a prosecution witness. The case is the same with Brig. Raj Sitapati, who was also a witness to the recovery of the two Urdu letters, and this material witness had also been conveniently brushed aside both by the police and the prosecution. Reliance was placed by the learned senior counsel in this regard on Tulsiram Kanu v. The State³⁵, Ram Prasad & Ors. v. State of U.P.³⁶ and State of U.P. v. Punni & Ors.³⁷
 
Para 96: But, apart from all these aspects on the statements of the accomplices, we fear that the story against the accused persons and its corroboration through the statements of accomplices is an act of concoction to make up a case against them. It was recorded in the statement of PW-126 that the information regarding PW-50 was given to him by D.G. Vanzara. However, D.G. Vanzara had not even been examined in this case and there is no information as to how he came to know about PW-50 after almost a year of the attack on Akshardham. This very important aspect of the lapse in investigation had been ignored by the courts below. The learned senior counsel for the accused persons have contended that there has been a delay of around a year from the time of the attack on Akshardham in recording the statements of the accomplices which shrouds the case of the prosecution.

 Page No. 265:  The statement of PW-50 was taken at 8 p.m, on the same night of 28.08.2003, after receiving verbal instruction from higher officer-D.G. Vanzara in the morning.

The following quotes are poignant and tell their own story:
Para. 131: " ….. take note of the perversity in considering this case at various stages, right from investigation level to the granting of sanction by the State Government ….. We being the apex court cannot afford to sit with folded hands when such gross violation of fundamental rights and basic human Rights of the citizens of this country were presented before us.”

Para 136: "Before parting with the judgment, we intend t express our anguish about the incompetence with which the investigating agencies conducted the investigation of the case of such a grievous nature, involving the integrity and security of the Nation. Instead of booking the real culprits responsible for taking so many precious lives, the police caught innocent people and got imposed the grievous charges against them which is resulted in their conviction and subsequent sentencing".

Such verdicts no doubt reaffirm each citizen’s faith in the judiciary. The tale of trauma and injustice deserves fair recompense and prosecution of the perpetrators.

(Excerpts from judgement in Criminal Appeal Nos 2295-2296 of 2010, Adambhai Sulemanbhai Ajmeri & Ors. …Appellants Versus State of Gujarat with Criminal Appeal Nos 45 of 2011)
 

The post Criminal Complaint Against Former Gujarat Cop Vanzara for ‘Madrassahs Manufacture Terrorism’ Speech appeared first on SabrangIndia.

(As this article is being posted, Zee News has reported the shocking news that a BJP youth has offered an award of Rs. 5 lakh to anyone who cuts off the president of the Jawaharlal Nehru Univeristy Student Union, Kanhaiya Kumar's tongue: March 5, 2016, 11.54 a.m.)

Sounds familiar? Union Minister Giriraj Singh and BJP President Amit Shah exhorting any and all who oppose the BJP “to go to Pakistan”(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8zete3Y2FU; http://www.ndtv.com/bihar/if-bjp-loses-bihar-elections-crackers-will-off…

Vanzara has been in a spate of television interviews on the Ishrat Jahan case recently and has announced that he will be interviewed by Sudharshan television (closely affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, RSS) on Saturday March 5 and 5.30 p.m.

Vanzara walked out of jail, on bail on February 18, 2015 and in a brazen echo of support for his political masters said these were now “Acche Din” for Gujarat policemen.  (http://www.firstpost.com/india/vanzara-gets-bail-its-ethically-and-morally-wrong-to-reinstate-cops-accused-of-fake-encounters-2113691.html)
 
On March 2, 2016, the hash tag  #removemughalsfrombooks was trending for the whole day (http://www.india.com/news/india/removemughalsfrombooks-bhakts-twitter-campaign-erase-mughal-history-school-books-998444/).

The banal stereotype of Mughal rule is a favourite with the sangh parivar, who’s ideological route is the RSS. The reductionist propaganda then equates all that is Mughal with all that is Muslim (sic). (http://scroll.in/article/804547/5-quintessentially-indian-things-that-will-have-to-go-if-we-removemughalsfrombooks)
 
Vanzara is an officer of the Indian Police Services (IPS) 1987 batch. One of the accusations int he chargesheet of the Sohrabuddin case relates to allegedly 331 calls from then minister of state for home, Amit Shah to Vanzara and other police officers, many of them around the time of these killings. Shah has since been discharged by a Bombay CBI Court (December 31, 2014) in the Sohrabuddin and Tulsiram Prajapati cases. Initially brother of Sohrabuddin approached the High Court in appeal but since has backed out of fighting the challenge (http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/fake-encounter-sohrabuddins-brother-takes-back-plea-against-bjp-president-amit-shah/).

In September 2013, there were as many as 32 police officers, including six IPS officers who were on jail for these encounters. Many of them had worked under Vanzara.These officers were also among those who had been highly rewarded under Modi and Shah. Vanzara himself had a meteoric rise since the early 2000s, when the encounters to eliminate terrorists began.

In his 2013 in a letter of resignation from the services, Vanzara had said about Narendra Modi, “ My God has betrayed me.” He had then been in jail for six years. (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/DG-Vanzara-on-Narendra-Modi-My-god-has-betrayed-me/articleshow/22264684.cms?referral=PMs.

In this 10 page controversial resignation letter addressed to Additional Chief Secretary (Home) dated September 1, Vanzara, lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail in connection with a string of alleged fake encounter cases, said the accused officers and men "simply implemented the conscious policy" of the state government. In his hard-hitting letter, Vanzara said if policemen could be sent to jail for alleged fake encounters, the place of the state government "should either be in Taloja central prison at Navi Mumbai or in Sabarmati Central Prison at Ahmedabad."

"I would like to categorically state in the most uninquivocal words that the officers and men of Crime Branch, ATS and Border Range, during the period between 2002 to 2007, simply acted and performed their duty in compliance of the concious pro-active policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism of this government after Godhra riots," he said.

"Gujarat CID and Central agency CBI had arrested me and my officers in different encounter cases holding us to be responsible for carrying out alleged fake encounters.

"If that is true then the CBI investigating officers have to arrest the policy formulators also as we, being field officers, have simply implemented the conscious policy of this government which was inspiring, guiding and monitoring our actions from the very close quarters," Vanzara said.

"By this reasoning I am of the firm opinion that the place of this government instead of being in Gandhinagar, should either be in Taloja central prison at Navi Mumbai or in Sabarmati Central Prison at Ahmedabad," he said.

Vanzara accused the state government, particularly former minister of state for home Amit Shah of betraying him and 32 other officers, in jail in encounter killing cases being probed by the CBI. The suspended officer blamed Shah, currently a BJP general secretary, for shifting Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter killing case transferred outside Gujarat.

"The crux of the whole matter is that it was just to facilitate his trivial personal interest of fighting Gujarat Assembly Elections of 2012 that Amit Shah got the trial (Soharabuddin encounter case) transferred and betrayed our trust reposed in him whereby he forced us to suffer more and more…" Vanzara said.

He said in the letter that he used to adore Modi like God, who could not rise to the occasion under the "evil" influence of Shah, a co-accused in Sohrabuddin Sheikh and Tulsiram Prajapati encounter cases.

Vanzara, who was unsparing in his attack on Shah for the plight of policemen jailed in fake encounter killing cases, was sarcastic while referring to Modi… saying, "…but I am sorry to state that my God could not rise to the occassion under the evil influence of Amit Shah who usurped his eyes and ears and has been successfully misguiding him by converting goats into dogs and dogs into goats since last 12 years."

"Chief minister of Gujarat has very rightly been talking of repaying his debt which he owes to Mother India. But, it would not be out of context to remind him that he, in the hurry of marching towards Delhi may kindly not forget to repay the debt which he owes to jailed police officers who endowed him with the halo of brave chief minister among the galaxy of other chief ministers who do not bare the same adjective before their names," Vanzara said.

"I state with all my humility that, but for the sacrifices made by me and my officers in thwarting the onslaught of initial disorder in the state the Gujarat Model of Development which this government is so assiduously showcasing at the national level would not have become possible," Vanzara said.

Vanzara is a prime accused in the alleged fake encounter killings of Tulsiram Prajapati, Sadik Jamal, Mumbai student Ishrat Jahan, Javed Shaikh, and two alleged Pakistani nationals Amjad Ali Rana and Zeeshan Johar, dubbed the Gujarat government as "spineless" when it came to protecting its own officers.

"…I have to state in nutshell that this spineless government of Gujarat which is valiant only in words otherwise coward in deeds and impotent in actions has ceased to command my allegiance, trust and loyalty… and that is why this government has no reason to keep me continued in its service nor I have a reason to continue to be in the service of this government even for a single day," he said in his resignation letter .

The post Controversial Cop Vanzara asks Sons of Mughals to Quit India appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The role of the Gujarat government in constructing the conspiracy theory behind the Godhra train arson and engineering the post-Godhra genocide has now been well documented. The report of the Concerned Citizens Tribunal also documented the names of officers and bureaucrats with a clear nexus to the sangh parivar (Crime Against Humanity – Volume II, Findings and Recommendations).

As far back as April 24, 2002, the then ADGP, RB Sreekumar recorded in a confidential report of the State Intelligence Bureau (which was also submitted to the Nanavati-Shah Commission) that "The inability of the Ahmedabad city police to contain and control violence unleashed by communally oriented mobs created an atmosphere of permissiveness and this eroded the image of the police as an effective law enforcing machinery in society, particularly among the lumpen and underworld segments… Many senior police officers spoke about officers at the decisive rung of the hierarchical ladder viz. inspectors in charge of city police stations ignoring specific instructions from the official hierarchy on account of their getting verbal instructions from senior political leaders of the ruling party."

Worse still was the consistent policy followed by the state government to punish those officers who performed their duties according to the law and to reward those who promoted killings, rape and arson by going along with the unlawful plans of the chief minister and his party during and after the 2002 genocide. For example:
 

RB Sreekumar: The former ADGP (intelligence) was transferred to the insignificant post of ADGP (police reforms) in September 2002. The transfer was ordered following Sreekumar’s determined efforts to uphold the law and expose the Modi administration’s nefarious activities during and after the 2002 violence. Between July 2002 and October 2005 Sreekumar filed four affidavits before the Nanavati-Shah Commission that provided startling evidence of the chief minister and his administration’s complicity in the genocide, their continuing anti-minority actions and their unrelenting efforts to obscure the truth. In early 2005 Sreekumar was superseded for promotion to the post of DGP, Gujarat, a decision that he challenged before the Central Administrative Tribunal. Although the tribunal ultimately ruled in his favour, the order was delivered on the day Sreekumar retired from service on February 28, 2007.

Rahul Sharma: The former SP, Bhavnagar, was transferred to the relatively unimportant post of DCP (control room) on March 24, 2002. Sharma’s strong actions to quell rioting mobs in Bhavnagar helped bring a volatile situation under control. On March 1, 2002, he prevented an attack on a madrassa that housed over 400 Muslim children by opening fire on the mob. Sharma refused to release the 21 persons/leaders belonging to the sangh parivar who were arrested for the attacks in Bhavnagar despite being under immense pressure to do so. In July 2002 Rahul Sharma was transferred to the post of SRPF commandant for opposing the anti-minority stance adopted by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch in the investigation of Ahmedabad city carnage cases. On July 1, 2002 Sharma filed an affidavit before the Nanavati-Shah Commission. In October 2004 during his deposition before the commission he produced extensive data in the form of mobile phone records that implicate both politicians and policemen in the rioting. Rahul Sharma is currently on deputation as SP, CBI.
 Vivek Srivastava: The former SP, Kutch, was transferred to the post of DCP (prohibition and excise) in March 2002. Srivastava had arrested a commandant of the Home Guard with known VHP links who was creating trouble in the border district. He carried out the arrest despite instructions to the contrary from the chief minister’s office.

Himanshu Bhatt: The former SP, Banaskantha, was transferred to the Intelligence Bureau at Gandhinagar in March 2002. Bhatt initiated action against a sub-inspector who had assisted a rioting mob. The sub-inspector concerned, who had important political connections, was reinstated from suspension and resumed his duties at the same police station.

MD Antani: The former SP, Bharuch, was transferred out of Bharuch to Narmada district in March 2002. Antani took action against some BJP/VHP supporters creating trouble in Bharuch.

Satishchandra Verma: The former Range DIGP, Bhuj, was transferred in March 2005 to the post of officer in-charge, SRP Training Chowky, Sorath, Junagadh, a post usually occupied by officers at the level of SP. The transfer was effected by upgrading the post from the level of SP to DIGP. Verma was transferred after he ordered the arrest of a BJP MLA from Banaskantha for his involvement in the murder of two Muslim boys during the 2002 violence. He carried out the arrest after fresh investigation entrusted to him as part of the review of about 2,000 riot related cases initiated under orders from the Supreme Court in August 2004.

 Jayanti Ravi: The former collector, Godhra, is now on deputation to the central government. Ravi maintained that the Godhra burning was an accident and firmly advised the chief minister against taking the bodies of Godhra train victims to Ahmedabad on February 27/28, 2002. It was these interventions that compelled the cavalcade to go by road, the initial plan being to take the burnt coach further. Following the outbreak of violence, there had also been large-scale arrests of BJP/VHP workers on rioting charges in areas within her jurisdiction.

Neerja Gotru: The SP (prohibition), Ahmedabad, was appointed special investigating officer assigned to reopen investigations in some riot related cases after the Supreme Court’s intervention in late 2003. Gotru reinvestigated riot related cases in Dahod and Panchmahal districts and managed to reopen some of them successfully. She was asked to wind up her probe in September 2004 soon after she ordered the arrest of a police sub-inspector who had burnt 13 bodies of the victims of the Ambika Society massacre at Kalol, all of them Muslim, in an attempt to destroy evidence. She was also instrumental in pursuing arrests in the Delol massacre case, which the same sub-inspector had closed "for want of evidence".
 

G. Subbarao: The former chief secretary was given a three-month extension in his post and also appointed chairman of the Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission for six years from May 2003. Occupying the senior-most position within the state bureaucracy in 2002, Subbarao coerced officials to support the unlawful policies of the Modi government and even instructed officers to ‘eliminate’ minorities.

Ashok Narayan: The former additional chief secretary (home) was given a two-year post-retirement position as Gujarat state vigilance commissioner. He was selected for this sensitive post despite the fact that his conduct and performance as former additional chief secretary is currently under scrutiny at the Nanavati-Shah Commission. Narayan helped the Modi government to carry out its anti-minority policies during and after the 2002 violence. He further demonstrated his allegiance to the chief minister by not revealing anything adverse in his affidavit before the commission and during his cross-examination before the commission in August 2004. Moreover, he did not file a second affidavit under the commission’s second term of reference (probing the chief minister’s role in the violence).

PK Mishra: The former principal secretary to the chief minister and chief executive officer, Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA), was later appointed to the important post of additional secretary, ministry of home affairs, Gujarat. He was also sent on several foreign jaunts in his capacity as chief of the GSDMA. Mishra was rewarded for his services to political masters as dedicated collaborator in the chief minister’s anti-minority drive. PK Mishra is currently principal secretary in the department of agriculture and cooperation of the union ministry of agriculture under the Nationalist Congress Party’s Sharad Pawar.

AK Bhargava: Appointed DGP, Gujarat, in February 2004, Bhargava was allowed to hold the additional charge of MD, Gujarat State Police Housing Corporation Ltd., controlling an annual budget of Rs 200 crore. As DGP, he readily cooperated with the government in protecting the BJP’s political interests in the matter of review of about 2,000 riot related cases, the Pandharwada mass graves case, the harassment of upright officers, compliance with the government’s illegal directives, and so on.     

PC Pande: The former CP, Ahmedabad city, was inducted into the central government by the NDA in March 2004, to the prestigious post of additional director, CBI. Pande’s appointment to the CBI was challenged by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) in the Supreme Court and he was directed by the apex court not to have anything to do with the Gujarat cases. Pande was then transferred to the post of additional director-general of the Indo-Tibetan Border Security Force in October 2004. In April 2006 Pande was appointed to the post of DGP, Gujarat, after which a second approach to the Supreme Court by CJP has once again led the court to direct him not to be involved in the investigation of riot related cases. It is relevant to note that Pande’s appointments to these influential posts are rewards for his services in facilitating the massacre of nearly 1,000 persons in Ahmedabad city during the 2002 riots, 95 per cent of them Muslim, and for shielding the Hindu perpetrators from arrest during the investigation of riot cases.

Kuldeep Sharma: The former Range In-charge, IGP, Ahmedabad Range, was promoted to the post of ADGP (crime), Gandhinagar. Sharma was rewarded for facilitating riots in the rural areas of Ahmedabad Range (the districts of Ahmedabad Rural, Kheda and Anand). He has also not filed any affidavits before the Nanavati-Shah Commission.

Punishment: Interestingly, in July 2005 Sharma was shifted to the post of ADGP (training) for failing to book danseuse and social activist, Mallika Sarabhai, accused in a false case of cheating and other offences, and for failing to protect a minister in the Modi cabinet – Prabhatsinh Chauhan – involved in a case of criminal misappropriation.     

MK Tandon: The former Joint CP, Ahmedabad city, was transferred to the "lucrative" Surat Range post in May 2002 and later promoted to the post of ADGP, Gandhinagar. In July 2005 Tandon was appointed to the post of ADGP (law & order) at the state police headquarters, a position with statewide jurisdiction. Tandon was rewarded for his services in facilitating the carnages at Gulberg Society, Naroda Patiya and elsewhere in Ahmedabad city where hundreds of Muslims were killed during the riots in 2002.  

Deepak Swaroop: The former Range Officer, Vadodara Range (covering the districts of Vadodara Rural, Godhra, Dahod and Narmada), was appointed CP, Vadodara, in February 2005. In charge of an area that witnessed ghastly incidents of violence in 2002, Swaroop is noted for his sustained inaction in the face of marauding mobs. He also narrowly escaped reprimand for concealing facts vis-à-vis investigation into the Best Bakery case by sessions judge, Abhay Thipsay, during the retrial of the case in Mumbai.

K. Nityanandam: The former home secretary was promoted to the post of CP, Rajkot city, in February 2005, a promotion effected by upgrading the post by two levels, from DIG to ADGP. Nityanandam was rewarded for his services as home secretary from 2001 to 2005, in particular for manipulating statistics and fabricating and drafting pro-government reports that were submitted to the NHRC and the courts.

Rakesh Asthana: Although a junior IG, Asthana was appointed to the post of IGP of the important Vadodara Range in April 2003. He was rewarded for zealously pursuing the government’s conspiracy theory with regard to the Godhra incident in his capacity as head of the Special Investigation Team probing the Godhra train arson. 

AK Sharma: The former SP, Mehsana, was appointed to the post of IGP, Ahmedabad Range, an important jurisdiction, an appointment that was achieved by downgrading the post. In early December 2002, prior to the Gujarat assembly elections, AK Sharma was removed from the post of SP, Mehsana, under instructions from the election commission who believed his presence would not be conducive to the conduct of free and fair elections in the district. He was however reinstated as SP later that month. Sharma was rewarded for his services during the riots of 2002. It was under Sharma’s jurisdiction that Mehsana district witnessed gruesome incidents of mass carnage, including the massacre at Sardarpura.    

Shivanand Jha: The former Addl. CP, Ahmedabad city, was appointed home secretary in February 2005. As Addl. CP, Jha headed the team that assaulted representatives of the media and social activists – including Narmada Bachao Andolan leader, Medha Patkar – at a peace meeting in Ahmedabad in April 2002. He was then transferred to the post of DIG (armed units), Rajkot, an appointment achieved by downgrading the post. Jha was rewarded in view of his services during the 2002 riots and for making no adverse revelations about the government before the Nanavati-Shah Commission. As home secretary, Jha is currently handling the preparation of reports defending the government in all matters relating to the 2002 riots and subsequent developments, to be presented to the courts and other bodies.

Sudhir K. Sinha: The former CP, Vadodara city, from June 2003, was appointed CP, Surat city, in February 2005, a post that many consider the most "profitable" one in the Gujarat police. Sinha was rewarded for his services in turning the key prosecution witness in the Best Bakery case, Zahira Shaikh, hostile, an event that occurred during his tenure as CP, Vadodara city.  

DG Vanzara: Appointed DIG, Anti-Terrorism Squad, in July 2005, Vanzara’s appointment was effected by downgrading the post from the level of IGP to DIGP. He was rewarded for ‘eliminating’ several Muslims in so-called police encounters during his tenure as DCP, Ahmedabad Crime Branch, from May 2002 to July 2005. Vanzara is currently in jail for his involvement in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.
 

Subservience of the IPS association 

1. The terror instilled in the minds of the Gujarat bureaucracy is evident in the fact that the IPS association’s Gujarat unit did not dare to convene a meeting until about three years after the genocide. A meeting of the IPS association’s Gujarat unit was finally convened in August 2005 with an aim to install a pro-government group of officers as office bearers. A campaign was launched to install DG Vanzara as secretary (the main functionary in the association) without holding any elections at all. Fortunately, however, elections were held and DIGP Satish Verma defeated Vanzara by a margin of 13 votes (Verma won 31 votes while Vanzara won 18).   
    
2. The Gujarat police force has about 8,000 vacancies at the constabulary level and about 950 vacancies at the level of police sub-inspector (PSI). These vacancies are in crucial functional posts. The inadequacy of trained and skilled human resources has had damaging effects on the efficiency, dedication and professionalism of the Gujarat police even as it undermines the quality of service delivered to the people. Overworked and under tremendous stress, the policemen at the constabulary and PSI level take the line of least resistance in matters of policing vis-à-vis the interests of the ruling BJP. Submitting to illegal directives from leaders of the ruling party is the only way they can survive.
    
3. As part of a so-called economy measure, the state government has introduced a new cadre of "Lok Rakshaks" under which persons are hired for policing (eventually to replace the constabulary) at a meagre Rs 2,500 per month. A group of senior citizens headed by former DGP, PB Malia, has filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court asking that the scheme be declared illegal.

Archived from Communalism Combat, July 2007 Year 13    No.124, Genocide's Aftermath Part II, State Complicity 3

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