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'Gujarat riots report should be given to governor'
Suspended Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt has said that the Nanavati Commission, which is enquiring into the 2002 Gujarat riots, should submit its second report to the governor of Gujarat, and not Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
In a letter written to the commission on Saturday, Bhatt has also said that even the first report of the commission, submitted to the state government, should be recalled and handed over to the Gujarat governor.
"First report of the commission may be recalled from the state government and be presented to the governor of Gujarat, as the role of the Gujarat chief minister is covered by the terms of reference of the enquiry," Bhatt stated in his letter.
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'Gujarat riots report should be given to governor'
"In consonance with the principle of natural justice that no person shall be a judge in his own cause, the yet-to-be submitted second report of the commission may also be presented to the governor and not the chief minister," he said.
The first report of the commission was submitted to Chief Minister Narendra Modi himself in September 2008, despite the fact that his role was very much the subject matter of the terms of references being enquired into by the commission, Bhatt observed.
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'Gujarat riots report should be given to governor'
In the first report which covered the Godhra train burning incident, the commission had said that it was a pre-planned conspiracy.
Bhatt also pleaded with the commission to summon Modi for deposition and cross-examination 'as the conclusion of the commission that no material was available against him was premature'.
"Without calling and examining Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, the conclusion that there is no material against him, is manifestly premature," Bhatt stated in his letter.