'Gujarat Government does not possess controversial CDs'

Ahmedabad, Aug 31 (UNI) The Gujarat Government told the Nanavati-Shah Commission today that it has no compact discs that contain mobile phone data pertaining to the 2002 riots.

Special Counsel for Gujarat Government Arvind H Pandya, in his submission, requested the Commission to supply copies of the said CDs and grant appropriate time to analyse them before it can reply to the charges by the Jansangharsh Manch.

The Government counsel also told the Commission that it may send the said CDs, produced before the Commission by CBI Officer Rahul Sharma, to FSL officers for the purpose of analysing the data.

The Government also urged the Commission to verify the CDs in question and establish the originality of the CDs by calling concerned persons from the mobile companies.

The Government counsel said Rahul Sharma, while holding unlawful possession of such important CDs by not disclosing it to any other superior officers, had shown negligence on this important issue.

It also indicates that Joint Commissioner of Police P P Pandey had never received such CDs from the mobile phone companies and, so, had not handed them over to Mr Sharma. The departmental findings show that Mr Sharma had himself collected the CD data from the two cellular companies and kept with him.

Earlier, the Commission had directed the Gujarat Government to submit its analysis report on the compact discs, containing details of mobile phone calls made and received by top politicians, government officials and police officers during the 2002 riots.

Advocate Mukul Sinha, representing the Jansangharsh Manch, had submitted his analysis report, along with the CD, to the Commission last month.

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

The analysis by the NGO questions the role of certain top police officers, politicians including the Chief Minister and the perpetrators of the riots during the communal riots in 2002.

It also indicates that top police officials, responsible for controlling the riots, were absent from the places where large-scale violence were reported and they were stationed at other areas of the city where peace prevailed.

The CDs contain data of over 10 million calls that were made between February 28, 2002 and March 4, 2002 when the communal riots were at its peak in Gujarat, according to Adv Sinha.

UNI