India Shining: Modi supported hacking of indian muslims to pieces

Modi was hand in glove with Godhra rioters, claims Tehelka's sting

Friday October 26 2007 09:58 IST

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEH20071025121628&Title=T op+Stories&rLink=0
NEW DELHI: Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi was hand in glove with the rioters who massacred hundreds of Muslims in 2002, claimed news magazine Tehelka which carried out a sting operation catching Sangh Parivar leaders on camera who claimed they were part of the pogrom.

Leaders of BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena were shown on tapes giving graphic description of how they killed Muslims after the Godhra incident. The rioters were also seen narrating stories about how they escaped law under the protection from the state, and even a section of the judiciary.

More than 1000 people had died in the riots that followed after a bogie of Sabarmati Express carrying Hindu kar sewaks was burnt down in Godhra.

According to Tehelka's editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, the sting operation was carried out over the last six months. It has one record a number of leaders including Godhra BJP MLA Haresh Bhatt, Shiv Sena leader Babu Bajrangi, and VHP leaders Anil Patel and Dhawal Jayanti Patel.

Babu Bajrangi, who claimed to have masterminded the killings in the Naroda Patiya locality, was shown saying that he had the patronage of chief minister Narendra Modi.

Bajrangi claimed that he could not bear what he saw in Godhra and decided to take revenge. He said that the then home minister Gordhan Zadaphia was informed about the carnage in Naroda Patiya and Naroda Gaon who told him to go into hiding.

"I spoke to Gordhan Zadaphia, told him everything that had happened. He told me to run, go into hiding," Bajrangi was shown saying on camera who also claimed that Muslims were hacked to pieces. He goes on to give details about how a pregnant woman was slit open during the carnage.

Bajrangi claimed that chief minister Narendra Modi came to Naroda on the day of the killing and supported the killings.


Haresh Bhatt claimed that Modi was favourable to the incidents. "What Modi has done, nobody can do. He told us you have three days to do whatever you can," he was shown as saying.

VHP leader Rajendra Vyas claimed that Godhara would remember the lesson. Vyas was incharge of the karsevaks on the Sabarmati Express. "As the CM, Narendra Modi couldn't say kill all the Muslims…I could say it because I was from the VHP," Vyas said on camera. He also claimed that the police was on the side of the rioters and the chief minister chose to look the other way when the killings were being carried out.

The sting, carried out by Tehelka reporter Ashish Khaitan, also caught Ramesh Dave, another VHP leader from Godhra on camera. "We targeted and killed all those who had been in our sights for the past 20-25 years," he claimed.

Tehelka claimed that Ashish Khetan infiltrated the ranks of the Sangh Privar and shot 50 hours of footage taking the rioters on record.

The exposure has come when Gujarat is about to face the polls in December.

The sting operation showed Sangh parivar functionary Suresh Richard, who was part of the Naroda Patiya killings. "Narendra Modi… he came with black commandoes…. Got down from his ambassador car and walked up here… all my sisters garlanded him… a big man is a big man after all," he said.

"….he went around to all the places…he said our tribe was blessed….he said our mothers were blessed," claimed Richard.

An accused in another infamous incident of Gulbarg society where Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was killed was also caught on the camera. Sangh parivar leader Mangilal Jain claimed how "our VHP brothers came in huge numbers, surrounded that Lanka and it was completely destroyed". The sting depicted how the former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was hacked limb by limb and burned.