Nanavati Commission issues ultimatum to government on CD analysis

Ahmedabad, July 21 (UNI) The Nanavati-Shah Commission today issued an ultimatum to the Gujarat government to submit its analysis report on compact discs, containing details of mobile phone calls made and received by top politicians, government officials and police officers during the 2002 riots that broke out soon after the train carnage at Godhra, within two weeks.

Earlier, on May 12, the Commission had directed both the government counsel and Jan Sangharsh Manch counsel Mukul Sinha to submit their analysis reports of compact discs by July 21.

Adv Sinha submitted his analysis report, along with the CD, to the Commission yesterday.

However, government counsel today moved an application demanding two weeks of extension for submitting the report and sought copies of CDs and the report submitted by Manch counsel to the Commission yesterday to verify their authenticity and genuineness before commenting on them.

Opposing the counsel's demand for more time, Adv Sinha contended that the Commission had ordered both the parties on May 12 to submit their analysis reports by July 21. Based on this order, he had submitted his analysis report yesterday.

He alleged that the CD issue is embarrassing for the government, hence it is not submitting its report before the Commission.

The Commission, however, granted two weeks time to the government counsel and directed the government to submit the same during the next hearing. If it fails then the Commission will not entertain its submission on record thereafter.

Adv Sinha told the Commission that he got the copy of the CDs from the Banerjee Commission, which investigated the Sabarmati Express carnage.

He said the CDs could throw light on the roles played by the politicians and the top police brass during the riots.

The Commission had set today's date to hear grievances of the riot-affected people from Ahmedabad rural, who were left out, but none turned up. Now, it has fixed August 1 for next hearing.

The Commission today observed, ''We are going to complete the hearing and submissions by the end of next month.'' UNI