Ex-DGP quizzed on Gujarat govt's role in Sarabhai's PIL

Ahmedabad: Nanavati Commission Friday questioned the former Gujarat DGP (intelligence), R B Sreekumar, on his affidavit in connection with the state government’s alleged attempt to sabotage the PIL filed by danseuse Mallika Sarabhai on 2002 riots in the state.

Suspended IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt had told the Commission – which is probing the riots – in May that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had tried to undermine the PIL, filed in the Supreme Court in 2002.

Following this, the Commission asked Sreekumar, who was Bhatt’s superior officer in the State Intelligence Bureau (SIB), to file an affidavit on Bhatt’s claims.

“On August 2, the Commission had asked me to clarify the role of the state government regarding Mallika Sarabhai’s PIL by filing an affidavit, which I did early this month,” Sreekumar told reporters. “Today, I was called by the Commission to answer some queries with regard to my affidavit.”

“As the proceeding was in-camera, I cannot tell what happened. I can only tell you that the Commission did not ask about the contents of my affidavit, but questioned me more on the process that the government had followed at that time,” Sreekumar said.

PTI