SIT officer told Parliment attack, 26/11 state-sponsored: R V S Mani

New Delhi, Mar 4: After stoking controversy by stating that the changes in the Ishrat Jahan affidavit was made by the then UPA government, R V S Mani, a former Home Ministry official has made yet another statement which could snowballed into major controversy soon.

Mani who had filed two affidavits in Gujarat High Court in the Ishrat Jahan case has said that that member of the SIT on the killings had told him that 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and Parliament attack were "orchestrated by the Government in power".

Mani, who filed the affidavits as Under Secretary in the Home Ministry in 2009, had told the then Union Urban Development Secretary Sudhir Krishna on June 21, 2013 about his deposition before the court-appointed SIT as he was posted in that Ministry at that time.

In his statement to Krishna, Mani had said that during the course of recording of the statement in Gandhi Nagar in Gujarat, the IG of the SIT Satish Chandra Verma had asked him many questions which he was not privy to or which officially were never in his domain during the tenure in the Home Ministry.

"He (Verma) started narrating as to how 13.12.2001 attack on Parliament of India and 26.11.2008 attacks are orchestrated by the government in power.

"He (Verma) stated that both these were the objective of strengthening the counter terrorist legislation. He narrated that December 13, 2001 was followed by POTA and November 26, 2008 was followed by amendment to UAPA wherein even Rs 10 in anybody's pocket can be treated as proceeds of terrorism.

"I told him (Verma) that he is entitled to his view but such view is generally held as ISI's view in the security establishment," Mani wrote in his note to Krishna.

Mani had claimed that Verma "coerced" him to sign some papers "knowing fully well that this would tantamount falsely indicting my seniors at the extant time". Former under secretary (Internal Security) in the Union home ministry , Mani further said that he was tortured to sign Ishrat's affidavits that says she was not a terrorists.

OneIndia News

(with inputs from PTI)