Godhra probe: A foregone conclusion?

Investigations into the burning of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra on February 27 seem to be directed to prove that it was a pre-planned terrorist act in line with the official script.

DIONNE BUNSHA

“It (burning of the Sabarmati Express) was a pre-planned attack. The charred bodies which I saw at Godhra railway station testified to the black deed of terrorism.”
- Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat, 28th February 2002. (quoted in Rediff.com)

On the day that the Sabarmati Express in Godhra was burned, killing 59 passengers, chief minister Narendra Modi and his Sangh Parivar brotherhood had already concluded that it was a pre-planned ‘terrorist’ conspiracy. Since then, investigations into the case have been directed towards proving their theory. But more than four months after the incident, a number of questions remain unanswered. The chargesheet filed by the CID (Crime) is vague about how the S/6 coach was set on fire on the morning of February 27th. It mentions that a mob of Muslims from Godhra burned the train. Details of how it was ignited are not mentioned. But, when contacted, police officials were unwilling to give any further explanations.

There doesn’t seem to be much evidence to prove that it was indeed a ‘pre-planned’, much less a ‘terrorist’ attack. The Foresic Science Laboratory (FSL) report has ruled out the possibility that the compartment was set on fire from outside by the mob. The report, which is part of the chargesheet, states, “no inflammable fluid had been thrown inside from outside the coach.” It also rejects the possibility that any inflammable liquid was thrown through the door of the bogie. The report concludes that around 60 litres of inflammable liquid was thrown by someone standing between the compartment and the northern side door of the bogie.

Working on the assumption that the fire was caused by an inflammable liquid, the FSL team conducted an experiment at the spot of the incident, recreating various ways in which it could have been ignited. From the railway platform, the FSL team threw buckets of water into the coach, whose window was 7 feet from the ground. Only 10 to 15 per cent of the water entered the compartment. If the inflammable liquid was thrown from outside, the FSL report noted, then most of it would fall around the track outside and the resulting fire would cause damage to the bottom of the outer part of the coach. But since this part of the S/6 coach was not severely burned, the report ruled out the possibility that the mob threw inflammable fluids from outside.

If the coach was set on fire from the inside, who did it remains uncertain. Passengers have given police statements saying that the windows and doors of the compartment were closed when the stone-throwing between kar sevaks on the train and local vendors began. This occurred when the train stopped for the first time outside the Parcel office, a minute after it moved out of Godhra station (see box on sequence of events). Yet, police investigators insist that the FSL report supports their contention that it was a ‘pre-planned conspiracy’ by local criminals who entered the train and set it on fire. “Our investigations show that around 15 to 20 people from the mob entered the compartment with more than 60 litres of fuel and set it on fire. The FSL report also states that three doors of the compartment were open. They could have entered the compartment,” says a police officer investigating the case.

But, the doors may have been opened later while passengers escaped. One passenger, in his police statement, mentions getting down from the right hand side door. Moreover, none of the passengers mentioned, in their police statements, that they had seen anyone entering the compartment. They all stated that the mob set the coach on fire. Some kar sevaks in S/6 and adjoining compartments who were interviewed by The Indian Express (Indian Express Ahmedabad Newsline, July 6th 2002) also ruled out the possibility of people from the mob entering the compartment. They said that the doors were bolted from inside, and later when they tried to open the doors, they were locked from outside.

Investigators have ruled out the possibility of the fire being caused by an accident. “There was no fuel inside the train,” said an investigating officer. He dismissed the possibility that kar sevaks could have been carrying fuel for cooking on their journey. Grain was also found inside the compartment. However, the investigator said that a family that was travelling to their village for a wedding had carried the grain.

Ever since the public disclosure of the FSL report, the Congress has been accusing the Sangh Parivar of masterminding the tragedy. “The FSL report shows that someone inside the train set it on fire. No Muslim could have entered the compartment. That too with 60 litres of petrol. The criminal mentality of the VHP leadership is such that they are even capable of killing their own kar sevaks for their own gain. Believe me, I know them very well,” alleges Shankarsinh Vaghela, a Congress leader, who defected from the BJP. He adds that no one would have entered the already crammed compartment unnoticed. The kar sevaks, who were behaving in an aggressive manner throughout the journey, would not have let a Muslim enter, Vaghela points out.

Another point to be considered was the fact that before the Godhra incident, the kar sevaks had been creating trouble on the trains to and from Ayodhya. They harassed, bullied and abused Muslim passengers, forcing them to say “Jai Shree Ram”. Other passengers were also harassed and not allowed to sit on seats that they had reserved tickets for. On the train that burned, even the ticket conductor was pushed out of a reserved compartment. Jan Morcha, a Hindi daily published from Ayodhya carried a report on February 25th about how kar sevaks were harassing passengers on the Sabarmati Express and had even beaten some of them. This was before February 27th, when the train was set on fire. Hours after the tragedy, Hindutva mobs attacked Muslim homes in several parts of Gujarat.

While the question of how the train was burned remains uncertain, the events preceding it have emerged quite clearly from statements of several railway officials and passengers. The train arrived at Godhra station at 7.42 a.m. Some passengers got down to buy tea and snacks from vendors on the platform. A scuffle between a kar sevak and a Muslim tea vendor occurred over the payment for tea. The train started from Godhra station at 7.47 a.m., leaving some passengers on the platform. A minute later, it stopped because the chain was pulled in four coaches. While the train halted, there was stone throwing between passengers on the train and Muslim residents who hid behind the Godhra station Parcel Office. The train started moving again at 8 a.m. Five minutes later, it stopped for the second time near the ‘A’ cabin of Godhra station. The local mob came running from the Parcel Office towards the train and more stone-pelting and violence continued. The coach was set on fire sometime before 8.17 a.m. The police arrived at 8.25 a.m. and started firing to disperse the mob.

Petitioners have submitted affidavits before the K.G. Shah judicial commission, which is inquiring into the Godhra incident and its aftermath, stating that the tragedy was not pre-planned. They say it was an unfortunate outcome of the spontaneous scuffle that broke out on the Godhra station platform that morning. Yet, these petitioners too, offer no explanation of how the fire broke out. One of the petitioners is an advocate and social activist Amrish Patel, while the other are a group of Ghachi Muslims from Godhra who feel that an injustice has been done against their community by portraying them all as deadly criminals.

While police investigators say that they are close to cracking the case and will announce the results of their investigations soon, others allege that the police still have very little evidence. In fact, the interim chargesheet filed by the police is not sufficient. The police will have to file a supplementary chargesheet before the case can be tried. Several questions have also been raised about the manner in which the police have tortured the 61 accused in custody. Some of the accused have even been injected with sodium pentathol, a dangerous drug called the ‘truth serum’ in order to get them to speak more freely. This is internationally considered a method of psychological torture. According to the Yale Herald, “It is a short-acting barbiturate that depresses the central nervous system, slows heart rate and lowers blood pressure. In the relaxed state produced by the drug, subjects are more susceptible to suggestion and are therefore easier to interrogate. However, the drug does not actually guarantee that prisoners will tell the truth. Often it makes subjects ‘gabby’ without revealing any important information.” However, investigators justify its use saying that they took court permission and that it was carried out under the supervision of an expert medical team. That still doesn’t detract from the fact that it was a blatant human rights violation.

Regardless of truth serum being used, how much evidence there is or how quickly the investigation is wrapped up, whether the truth about the burning of the Sabarmati Express will ever be known is another story. Many powerful Hindutva leaders had already written the script, as well as the reprisal massacres that followed, on the day of the tragedy itself.

Sequence of events
Godhra, February 27, 2002.

7-42 a.m.: The train arrives at Godhra station.

7-42 to 7.47 a.m.: During the five-minute halt there is a scuffle between a kar sevak and a Muslim tea vendor.

7-47 a.m.: The train starts from Godhra station, leaving some passengers on the platform.

7-48 a.m.: The train stops after the chain is pulled in four coaches.

7-48 to 8-00 a.m.: There is stone-throwing between passengers on the train and Muslim residents who hide behind the parcel office of Godhra station.

8-00 a.m.: Train starts moving again.

8-05 a.m.: Train stops for the second time near Cabin 'A' of Godhra station.

8-05 to 8-17 a.m.: A group of people come running from the parcel office towards the train and there is more stone-throwing and violence. The coach is set on fire.

8-25 a.m.: The police arrive and open fire to disperse the mob.


Frontline, July 20 - August 2, 2002 Also available here