THE CIRCLE OF DECEPTION
I read with interest the article 'A shot in the dark' by Ashok Malik published on 10/10/11 in your esteemed newspaper 'The Hindustan Times'. Infact I was quite surprised that a newspaper whose name is associated with Gandhi and the Birlas should be giving so much space to a writer who is obviously been commissioned by the Modi mafia (or he is a part of it ) to spin a web of untruths,halftruths to cover the misdeeds of Mr Modi.Obviously a attempt by a journalist in this direction has chances of succeeding far more than a rhetoric by a BJP/RSS member.
Having said this let us now examine the highlights presented in the article by the learned author.
1.Mr Malik is very sure that Bhatt was not present in the meeting called by the CM Modi on 27.2.02 where Modi allegedly instructed the Police Officers present to allow "The Hindus extremist to go slow on the killings of Muslims". The other thing he is sure that Modi never uttered these words. For both of these contentions he heavily relies on the statement of Chief of Police of Gujrat who is directly working under the CM who controls his confidential reports which can spoil his career if a adverse remark is entered. It is amazing how the author has conveniently forgotten that no senior officer ever commits the act of charging his boss for criminal activity which will surely result in severe retribution ( Here Bhatt is a exception ).Infact toeing his line specially in adverse times would result in rich dividends. Thus believing the Chief of Police over Bhatt reveals a lot about the motive of the author. And foremost the events which unfolded subsequently goes a lot to back Mr Bhatt contention.For 3 days the massacre of muslims continued with the police standing like mute spectators. The other thing which requires consideration is the fact that something extremely evil must have shaken the conscious of Mr Bhatt which gave him the strength to reveal the truth ,knowing well that his action can ruin his family and his very life. For mere political reasons no sane person would risk his life specially before the all powerful dictator Modi. Today we see that Mr Bhatt is in jail,humilated before his juniors and his house raided twice as if he is a dangerous criminal.
2. Now let us come to the episode of constable Panth. Let us not forget that originally Panth and the driver of Mr Bhatt testified the accuracy of his presence in the meeting of 27.2.02.Susequently Panth has retracted his statement and has charged Bhatt with forcefully obtaining his signatures on the affidavit. Here it is important to consider whether it is possible to forcefully obtain signature of a person like Mr Panth who must have gone through many ups and downs in his long career of 25 yrs and is a experienced and old hand. For a moment it would have been considered feasible if a younger or a new recruit was involved. Secondly Mr Panth has changed his statement earlier stating loss of memory. Further it is pertinent to note that the other witness to Bhatt presence in the meeting ( the driver ) has not changed his statement. All these reasons strongly points towards the fact that Pant has been tutored and threatened by powerful forces. Let us not forget these charges if proved to be correct will spell the end of Modi.
3.It is quite amusing to note that the author mentions NHRC strictures on Bhatt but conveniently forgets the severe strictures passed on Modi for misgovernance during 2002 riots,destroying of evidence and filing of fake FIR's. Infact NHRC stops short of declaring Modi complicity in the riots.A police officer on ground duty have to face many allegations by criminal elements against whom actions are being taken. But this is not the case with Modi. His misdeeds are corrabated by 2000 innocents murders.For the record the penalty of Rs one lakh imposed by NHRC in the Bhatt case has been recovered from him after several years now in a fit of revenge by the Modi Goverment. But the justice to the unfortunate victims of the 2002 pogrom still eludes.
4.The distorted arguments cunningly weaved by Mr Ashok Malik to make a case against Mr Bhatt where none exist is finally exposed when he alleges that Mr Bhatt conspired with the congress to boost his career. The right thing for Bhatt would have been to keep quiet on the events during the riots and after it and surely today he would have been the DIG of the state. Today everybody knows the extent of rewards distributed by Modi in the form of out of turn promotions to Police officers loyal to him and those who have helped in keeping things under wrap. Today all the IPS Officers of 1988 batch sans Mr Bhatt are DIG. Such is the punishment for a brave Officer who has risked everything for the sake of justice.
5. Interestingly the BJP whenever it comes to 2002 riots tries to defend itself by referring to the development in the state,whereas there is no connection between the two. No sane person will ever agree to the view that the development ( which itself is debatable ) in Gujrat washes away the crimes committed against humanity. Even the USA has barred visa to Modi on this account. The other argument which BJP/RSS advances is that the people who are raising issues against Modi, underscores the Godhra killings. In a way they are actually describing the mass killing of muslims as a act of retaliation. But they forget that the sequence of events clearly leads to the conclusion that the constitutionally elected state Goverment actively connived to kill its own citizens instead of their duty to protect them. Therefore it is most important to bring to justice such state officials so that the experiment carried out by them in Gujrat is not repeated. Here the question is to firmly establish the constitution of India and its secular provision as supreme.
6. It is rather futile to react to other extraneous and irrelevant issues quoted in the article since they are based on the false premises that those who are supporting Modi and maligning Mr Bhat are angels of truth.
In the end I would only request those like Mr Malik to introspect and let the truth come out instead of jumping to defend the undefendable on every occasion when any evidence against Modi comes to the surface. Infact this only gives rise to the suspicion that there is something to hide.
Till now all the evidence against Bhatt are contrived and springs from the communal politics of BJP/RSS. At present he rides tall and can be aptly described as a courageous and brave officer who sacrified everything for the sake of truth.
A.K.BUNDI 10.10.2011
