Front Page

Keep aside Nanavati panel report: CPI(M)

NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday said the findings of the Justice Nanavati-Mehta Commission report on the Godhra train fire should be kept aside and the country should await the directions of the Supreme Court and contingent investigations ordered.

Referring to the report released on Thursday, the party Polit Bureau said in a statement that it had been presented to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in a “piecemeal fashion,” with the second part slated to be released in December 2008. The fact that the report has come after an abnormally long delay raises many needles of suspicion.

The piecemeal release of the report “tends to justify the action-reaction theory propagated by Narendra Modi and the RSS-BJP-Bajrang Dal-VHP.” These findings completely contradicted the report of the former Supreme Court Justice, U.C. Banerjee Committee, which established on the basis of forensic reports that the fire in Coach S-6 of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra was accidental.

The findings of the Nanavati report also contradicted the fact that in the ongoing criminal proceedings against the Godhra accused no charge had so far been established by the concerned courts. “These findings also run in the face of the contradictory admissions made by various players in the Gujarat carnage as exposed by the sting operation of a private channel (Operation Kalank).” The findings of the Nanavati report have been solely based on the report filed by the investigating officer in the Godhra train burning case Noel Parmar. The Supreme Court had rejected the Parmar report and on March 26, 2008 constituted a police team headed by R.K. Raghavan, former CBI director, to investigate the post-Godhra violence.

“Clearly, by delaying the second part of the report, the Nanavati Commission attempts to negate the apex court’s directions. The timing of the release of the report is indeed suspicious given that it comes on the eve of the elections to some State Assemblies in November and the second part is slated to be released on the eve of the coming general elections,” it said.

The Polit Bureau said, “This also comes at a time when the country as a whole is bracing to meet the challenge posed by the series of terrorist attacks. It tends to reinforce the communal stereotype and prejudices rather than strengthening the need to pursue unbiasedly and impartially the anti-national criminals who are perpetrating such terrorist attacks.”