Political criminals behind Pandya murder
Police and allied departments exist to control the criminals. But what if the government uses them for its work? Investigating agencies have identified the role of cops in communal incidents across the country. The most critical role the cops played in Gujarat massacre is more than evident now.
What would the dignity of the uniform come to, if the department of police gets used by politicians in this manner? This question has come up at a time when the investigation of the murder of Haren Pandya that happened in 2003, is in progress.
Haren Pandya was seen as a rebel leader of Gujarat BJP when Modi was the CM. Pandya had criticized Modi over Gujarat massacre. He said government had a direct role to play in this. Subsequent to this, Pandya was killed mysteriously on March 26, 2003. His bullet ridden body was discovered around Law Garden in Ahmedabad.
All the accused in Haren case arrested by CBI were released later. Gujarat court had reprimanded central investigating agency for not providing clear details on the number of bullets that were pumped into Pandya’s body, the place where he was killed and the number of assailants. Now the answer to why a political leader like Pandya’s case was ignored by the police department is getting very clear. How do the murderers book their own kin?
Prosecution witness Azam Khan who was the witness in Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausar Bi’s murder case, has submitted before the CBI court on Saturday that former Gujarat IPS officer D G Vanzara had instructed Sohrabuddin to kill Pandya, and that the latter had shared this information with Azam Khan. Vanzara had informed CBI of a conspiracy to kill Pandya.
But just a few days before his murder, Pandya’s security cover was withdrawn. This step by government later proved to be very dangerous for his life. There are obvious suspicions about political power working behind his murder. And from this, it is even easy to decipher who was behind Sohrabuddin’s murder as well. Police and political leaders needed to finish off people who knew the secret behind Haren Pandya’s murder. It can be understood that the Gujarat government met this agenda by putting the police force to use.
CBI had failed in investigating the Sohrabuddin case as well. The agency failed to appeal after Amit Shah and the others were discharged from the case. Now this statement by the witness is forcing the agencies to consider opening cases of Pandya and Sohrabuddin once again.
Pandya family has always raised concerns about the investigation not being conducted well into his murder case by the agencies. Family members say the murderers are still roaming free. Yet, the CBI is not willing to admit it took the investigation in wrong direction. The Gujarat massacre, followed by Pandya murder and the killing of Sohrabuddin and his men were carried out by a similar set of people.
If we can conclude that this force was part of the Gujarat government, it is also part of today’s central government as well. Hence, it is difficult for Pandya’s killers to be caught. Haren Pandya had given an interview to Outlook magazine about the public rally PM Modi had organized on February 27, 2002. He had mentioned Modi had instructed that the arsonists and miscreants should be dealt with and softly and that Hindus should be allowed to placate their anger.
Outlook had reported this fact later that a former minister had said his identity should not be revealed under any circumstances either as a BJP man or as a former minister in writing or even in casual sense. I will die even if you mention me as a BJP man or as a minister. In seven months post this interview, Pandya was killed. Vanzara in his resignation paper had said if he ‘drowned’; he’d ensure more people would go down with him thus indicating to the government that he had secured his game, issuing a note of caution to Modi and Shah. Now, the government cover around Pandya case can be undone soon, if the case is reinvestigated along with that of Sohrabuddin murder. Unless this happens, the truth will remain buried deep and to the convenience of many people behind it.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
