Dear Friends:
This story appeared in today's (April 11) New York Times: -bhuban April 11, 2012, 7:57 AM For Modi, Clean Chit or Long Fight Ahead? By SRUTHI GOTTIPATI Associated Press In this file photo, the train set on fire by a mob in Godhra, Gujarat, on Feb. 27, 2002, that sparked communal riots in the state. A Supreme Court-appointed investigative team found no evidence against controversial Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in the riots that convulsed his state a decade ago, a lower court said Tuesday. While the announcement undoubtedly signals some relief for Mr. Modi, it also raises the question of whether he is off the hook for his role in the carnage or if this is the start of a protracted legal battle. It looks like it may be the latter. The court has to decide whether to accept the report and close the case, or to hold a trial. Before making the decision, it has to listen to the petitioners in the case, including Zakia Jafri, whose husband Ahsan, a former member of Parliament from the Congress party, was killed in his neighborhood, Gulberg Housing Society, along with 69 others. Ms. Jafri, and a prominent activist and co-petitioner, Teesta Setalvad, have decided to contest the findings. “We will fight the case step by step. It’s just the SIT head Mr. Raghavan who has sought closure of the case,” Ms. Setalvad told the Hindustan Times newspaper, referring to the special investigative team that found no evidence against Mr. Modi. Ms. Jafri also said she’s confident of getting justice. Mr. Raghavan told news channel NDTV that he was willing to have his report “scrutinized by anyone.” “If we are wrong, we will bow to the judgment of the court,” he said on Tuesday. A Daily News and Analysis article reports that if the court decides to go against the investigative team’s findings, Modi is likely to approach higher courts. Ms. Jafri is likely to do the same if the court doesn’t. “This is not even the beginning of the end,” the newspaper notes. _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
