No evidence that Modi incited rioters, pressured police: SIT

Ahmedabad, April 26: The lawyer of the Supreme Court-appointed SIT, which has given a clean chit to

Chief Minister

in 2002 post-Godhra riots case after investigating complaint filed by Zakia Jafri, on Thursday said that "Modi has never said that go and kill people".

Opposing the protest petition filed by Jafri against SIT's closure report, its lawyer R S Jamuar said, "(social activist) Teesta Setalvad and others have falsified the complaint targeting Chief Minister who had never said that go and kill people."

During the second day of arguments, SIT lawyer targeted Setalvad, who has taken up the cause of riot victims, and who is helping Zakia, whose husband, Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, was killed in the riots.

Dubbing Setalvad as the sole "writer" of "fictitious" complaint against Modi and others, advocate Jamuar said: "The so-called incident of CM giving instructions to high-level police officers not to take action against the rioters is a sole creation of Teesta Setalvad. There is no evidence."

Zakia's petition demands filing of chargesheet against Modi and 58 others who she had named in her complaint filed before the Supreme Court. She has also sought further investigations by an independent agency other than SIT.

"On Teesta's instruction a citizens' tribunal was formed under the leadership of Justice (retired) V R Krishna Iyyer... after collecting evidence (it) published a report in which it was claimed that Modi has, in a meeting at his residence on February 27, 2002, gave so-called instructions," said Jamuar.

"When SIT member A K Malhotra examined the members of tribunal, they said the then state minister Haren Pandya told them. But they never had any evidence, no recording of testimony, nothing and still they came up with such conclusion," Jamuar said.

PTI