‘GUJARAT POLICE WERE INACTIVE DURING RIOTS’

Former Director General of Police (DGP) Gujarat and Special Rapporteur, National Human Rights Commission, P.G.J. Namboodiri, has said that the police force in Gujarat usually remains inactive during the communal riots in that State. He was speaking at an interactive session on Gujarat riots organised by Navatharangam, the cultural organisation of bank employees at the…

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June 18, 2022
Former Director General of Police (DGP) Gujarat and Special Rapporteur, National Human Rights Commission, P.G.J. Namboodiri, has said that the police force in Gujarat usually remains inactive during the communal riots in that State. He was speaking at an interactive session on Gujarat riots organised by Navatharangam, the cultural organisation of bank employees at the Calicut Press Club auditorium on April 25.
That the police force chose to remain inactive was evident when a train carrying pilgrims at Godhra railway station was set afire. The train was not set ablaze all of a sudden. Initially, the train was stoned. Then, there were clashes. All this while, the district administration and the police remained silent, he said. The Rapid Action Force and the Railway Police too were mute witnesses to the clashes between the two communities, said the former IPS officer who served in Gujarat for 44 years.

“The BJP had been claiming all along that Gujarat prospered under Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Gujarat had prospered under all governments. Industry and agriculture have been flourishing there for long,” he said.