NHRC seeks probe into attacks on Muslims: Special courts suggested to try Gujarat cases
By Jawed Naqvi
NEW DELHI, April 1: India’s National Human Rights Commission on Monday asked for a federal probe into widespread attacks on Muslims and said the unabated killing spree amid allegations of official connivance had breached the country’s international treaty obligations, including a solemn commitment to protect lives and other key rights of all citizens equally.
NHRC chairman Justice J.S. Verma said the commission had prepared a preliminary report that was released to the media, and a confidential report that was sent to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee ahead of his proposed visit to Gujarat on Thursday.
“The Commission would like to observe that the tragic events that have occurred have serious implications for the country as a whole, affecting both its sense of self-esteem and the esteem in which it is held in the comity of nations,” the NHRC report said.
“Grave questions arise of fidelity to the Constitution and to treaty obligations. There are obvious implications in respect of the protection of civil and political rights, as well as of economic, social and cultural rights in the State of Gujarat as also the country more widely. But most of all, the recent events have resulted in the violation of the Fundamental Rights to life, liberty, equality and the dignity of citizens of India as guaranteed in the Constitution. And that, above all, is the reason for the continuing concern of the Commission.”
Justice Verma, a former chief judge of the Supreme Court, had led NHRC team to Gujarat recently where he said he found clear evidence of official apathy towards the victims. Official death toll in the pogroms after the Feb 27 train tragedy at Godhra has been estimated at 780, but most human rights groups say the number of those killed could be closer to 2,000.
The NHRC’s interim report slammed the Gujarat government for suggesting that the state had no prior information about the return of Hindu volunteers from Ayodhya by the Sabarmati Express before a suspected Muslim mob attacked it, killing 58 people.
“The Commission is deeply concerned to be informed of this. It would appear to constitute an extraordinary lack of appreciation of the potential dangers of the situation, both by the Central and State intelligence agencies. This is more so given the history of communal violence in Gujarat,” the report said. It quoted a Gujarat government report as saying that the Godhra incident occurred at a time when the environment was already surcharged due to developments in Ayodhya and related events.
The NHRC said it had noted that while the Gujarat government report states that the Godhra incident was “premeditated”, it does not clarify as to “who precisely was responsible for this incident.
“In the light of fact that numerous allegations have been made both in the media and to the team of the Commission to the effect that FIRs in various instances were being distorted or poorly recorded, and that senior political personalities were seeking to ‘influence’ the working of police stations by their presence within them, the Commission is constrained to observe that there is a widespread lack of faith in the integrity of the investigating process and the ability of those conducting investigations,” the report said.
“The Commission considers it would be naive for it to subscribe to the view that the situation was brought under control within the first 72 hours. Violence continues in Gujarat as of the time of writing these proceedings. There was a pervasive sense of insecurity prevailing in the State at the time of the team’s visit to Gujarat. This was most acute among the victims of the successive tragedies, but it extended to all segments of society, including to two Judges of the High Court of Gujarat, one sitting and the other retired who were compelled to leave their own homes because of the vitiated atmosphere. There could be no clearer evidence of the failure to control the situation,” the report noted.
In view of the widespread allegations that FIRs have been poorly or wrongly recorded and that investigations are being ‘influenced’ by extraneous considerations or players, the NHRC was of the view that the integrity of the process has to be restored. It therefore recommends the entrusting of certain critical cases to the CBI federal police. These include the cases relating to the Godhra incident, which is at present being investigated by the government railway police; Chamanpura incident; Naroda Patiya incident; Best Bakery case; and the Sadarpura case in Mehsana district.
The NHRC recommended that special courts should try these cases on a day-to-day basis, the judges being handpicked by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Gujarat. Special prosecutors should be appointed as needed. Procedures should be adopted for the conduct of the proceedings in such a manner that the traumatized condition of many of the victims, particularly women and children, is not aggravated and they are protected from further trauma or threat, the NHRC said. A particular effort should be made to depute sensitive officers, particularly officers who are women, to assist in the handling of such cases.
It said given the wide variation in the performance of public servants in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities, action should be initiated to identify and proceed against those who have failed to act appropriately to control the violence in its incipient stages, or to prevent its escalation thereafter. By the same token, officers who have performed their duties well, should be commended.
“Special efforts will need to be made to identify and assist destitute women and orphans, and those subjected to rape. The Women and Child Development Department, Government of India, and concerned international agencies/programmes should be requested to help. Particular care will need to be taken to mobilize psychiatric and counselling services to help the traumatized victims. Special efforts will need to be made to identify and depute competent personnel for this purpose,” the NHRC said.
