Sunday, December 2, 2012

‘KK Mysorewala did not take preventive steps’

http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.aspx?id=14334&boxid=18082&ed_date=2012-09-04&ed_code=1310005&ed_page=4

DNA Correspondent l Ahmedabad
The special judge, who conducted the trial in the Naroda Patia massacre case, criticised the initial investigation in the case that was done by the Naroda police, and also pulled up the then police inspector, KK Mysorewala.
In her 2000-page-long verdict, the judge has said that statements of witnesses recorded by the previous investigator were unreliable as the investigator’s propriety in recording the statements had itself been rebutted.
“This court believes and has held that the previous investigation is not reliable mainly as far as recording the statements is concerned,” the judge has stated in her verdict.
Regarding Mysorewala, the court said the police officer had not paid due attention to the guidance and oral instructions given on February 27, 2002 by higher officers regarding preventive steps to be taken. “Not a single such step was taken,” the court said.
“Two incidents of burning Muslim shops on that day should have been taken as signals of the series of horrifying and terrifying incidents to occur, but nothing was noted by him. Even no police point was arranged at the place near the wall of Jawan Nagar and where the Muslim chawls known as Jawan Nagar begin,” the court said. The judge further said that complaints were registered after the two shops of Muslims were burnt but no proper and detailed investigation was done and no one was arrested.
“This job could also have been assigned to some subordinate by KK Mysorewala but he remained inactive as emerges on record,” the judge said.
In her 2000-page verdict, the judge said that statements of witnesses recorded by the previous investigator were unreliable as the investigator’s propriety in recording the statements had itself been rebutted