Zakia Jaffery disappointed with SIT's closure report

Surat /Ahmedabad, Feb 9 (ANI): Zakia Jaffery, petitioner in the post-Godhra riot case on Thursday expressed her disappointment on the reported closure report filed by the Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Speaking to reporters in Surat, Jaffery said although she was saddened by the report, she would continue her fight against the Modi Government.

"For the past ten years this case has been going on and I am fighting it. I am saddened by the SIT (Special Investigation Team) report. I have the courage to face the decision of the court, which would be pronounced by the court. I have courage to fight again if the decision is not in my favour," she said.

Counsel of Zakia Jaffery in post-Godhra riot case on Thursday criticised the closure report filed by the Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in Ahmedabad.

S M Vora, counsel to Zakia Jaffery, wife of ex-Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was killed by rioters, said that an application had been submitted in court requesting to collect all required material.

"Yesterday (February 8), SIT has filed the closure report in a sealed cover. Therefore, today we went to the court and submitted an application that whatever SIT has submitted that cover should be opened. We have also requested in the application that court should see if the entire material is submitted or not. And if they have not submitted then the court should issue a notice to the SIT," he said.

Another counsel, Shamshad Pathan questioned the timing of the sealed report presented by SIT.

"Yesterday, when high court criticised Gujarat Government in a judgement, immediately after that Raghavan (R K Raghavan, the head of SIT), without informing anyone presented a report in a sealed cover. This in itself raises a question," Pathan said.

Earlier in the day, social activists Teesta Setalvad and Mukul Sinha had filed two separate applications in a metropolitan magistrate court, seeking copies of the SIT report.

Meanwhile another riots victim, Roopa Modi, resolved to continue her fight against Modi.

"The SIT does not have the authority to take any decision to give a clean chit to the accused. The court be it the high court or the Supreme Court, will take the final decision whether to give a clean chit to them or not. We will not give him (Modi) a clean chit and will fight against it," she said.

The 2002 Gujarat riots had led to widespread allegations of inaction and even connivance against Modi and his administration, cementing his image as a right-wing hard-line political leader, an image he has sought to soften in recent times as he reportedly eyes a larger role in national politics.

The SIT, on Wednesday, filed a closure report in a sealed cover on the complaint of Zakia Jaffery, wife of ex-Congress MP Eshan Jaffery.

So far, there has been no official confirmation whether the report had closed the cases against Modi.

Jaffery in her complaint had sought prosecution of Modi, along with 57 others, for aiding and abetting communal riots. Ehsan Jaffery was among the 69 persons killed in the Gulberg Housing society riots. Around 1,200 people were killed in the communal riots.

On September 12 last year, the Supreme Court had refused to pass any order on Modi's alleged inaction in containing riots in 2002 and left it to the concerned magistrate's court to decide the course of action against him on the basis of the SIT report.

In the petition, Zakia had alleged that Modi and 62 top government officials deliberately refused to take action to contain the state-wide riots, triggered by the February 27, 2002 Godhra train carnage.

The SC had further said that in case the magistrate decides to drop proceedings against Modi and others, he has to hear the plea of Zakia, who had filed a complaint against the chief minister and others.

Jaffery had told the apex court that a proper probe should be carried out by the SIT, headed by former CBI chief R K Raghavan, into her allegations of inaction and various acts of omission and commission by Modi and others during the riots.

The apex court in 2009 had earlier handed over the task of probing the case to SIT which submitted its report in 2011. (ANI)