Sunday, April 19, 2009

Lies, damned lies, and testimonies

(updated below)

So far as hoaxes go, this is amongst the worst kind. First the victims suffer in the hands of murdering communalists. Then one of their own refurbishes and contaminates testimonies in a misguided attempt to make them sound worse, leaving the victims to next suffer a skeptical public questioning their claims and disbelieving their motives.

I am referring to the Gujarat riots, a horror show 7 years past, where NGOs are still struggling tooth and nail against the unsympathetic state government to get justice. Amongst the biggest backers of the effort for justice was Teesta Setalvad. Now, it turns out that some of the heinous crimes that had stirred the public to outrage may have been phony, scripted by Teesta Setalvad etc and filed through false affidavits.

The Special Investigation Team responsible for the arrests of those accused in Gujarat riots has severely censured NGOs and social activist Teesta Setalvad who campaigned for the riot victims.

...The SIT also found no truth in the following incidents widely publicised by the NGOs:

* A pregnant Muslim woman Kausar Banu was gangraped by a mob, who then gouged out the foetus with sharp weapons

...The SIT said it had been alleged in the Gulbarg Society case that Pandey, instead of taking measures to protect people facing the wrath of rioteers, was helping the mob. The truth was that he was helping with hospitalisation of riot victims and making arrangements for police bandobast, Gujarat counsel, senior advocate Mukul Rohtagi, said quoting from the SIT report.

The story came out in the Times of India (ToI), not the most respectable newspaper, nevertheless, one with a very strong network of journalists. (Thanks for the heads up, Quirky)

Meanwhile, at the website of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP, Setalvad's NGO), all links on the home page are currently defunct. However, I did find their response to the ToI story.

ToI continues to stand by its claims.

And the truth, as they say, is out there.

****

To be honest, my past admiration for Teesta and what had appeared to be a consistent effort on her part to fight communalism, make me wonder: is there is some other angle to their story? Perhaps Teesta was misled regarding the events? Perhaps, like in the Best Bakery Case (where the bakery was set afire during the riots, burning to death most people hiding, and the prime witnesses - Zaheera - changed her testimony around), victims have recanted their testimonies under pressure? Perhaps the government report is biased?

But the truth is reputed to be the simplest explanation: was in fact the Zaheera/Best Bakery case, (Teesta Setalvad got a clean chit and Zaheera got a sentence for perjury) another event where Setalvad had masterminded the lies?

For now, it appears that an overzealous, media-pandering individual lied about the nature and extent of crimes committed during the Gujarat riots, either to forward to her own agenda, or in a misguided attempt to stir more sympathy for the victims.

I just hope tainting by association doesn't spoil the prospects of justice for the real claims in the basket.

***

Update:

ToI's report may be inaccurate after all.

ToI had based its story on the SIT report; however SIT - "slammed reports that riots witnesses were tutored to give false evidence for exaggeration of the situation, by activists and organisations helping the victims". This news article, appearing in the Hindustan Times, also claims that the what is being masqueraded as "findings" of the report are simply statements of state police officials, aka the government machinery (as Setalvad's letter to ToI in response to the original article also suspected).

(Thanks for the comment Dilip)

2 comments:

Dilip D'Souza said...

Here’s some of what the SIT said yesterday (April 21st):

* The Special Investigation Team (SIT) ... on Tuesday slammed reports that riots witnesses were tutored to give false evidence for exaggeration of the situation, by activists and organisations helping the victims.

* [T]he Supreme Court termed the leak as a “betrayal of the faith reposed in those to whom the report was allowed access”.

* “The alleged reported leaks appear to be inspired by dubious motives. I cannot confirm such claims. The act is highly condemnable,” [SIT chief] Raghavan said.

* The SIT sources said the alleged leaks appear to have been based on statements of state police officials and “cannot be termed as findings of the report.”

All from the Hindustan Times today (April 22), this report: Gujarat riots witnesses not tutored: SIT.

(This is all in a post on my blog, More about warped minds).

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