Jaideep Patel

Last updated

Jaideep Patel (or Jaydeep Patel) is a medical doctor who runs a pathology lab in Naroda, Ahmedabad, Gujarat in India. He served as the Gujarat state general secretary for Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Hindu nationalist organisation, [1] during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

Role in 2002 Gujarat riots

In the Godhra train burning incident on 27 February 2002, a train carrying pilgrims ("karsevaks") from a VHP-organized ceremony at Ayodhya was burnt by a Muslim mob, killing 59 people, including 25 women and 15 children. Jaideep Patel was present in Godhra to attend to the victims of the incident. He proudly told news reporters that he entered the burnt compartment even before the police did. [2] He is believed to have had a role in the controversial decision taken by the Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Gordhan Zadaphia and the District Magistrate, Javanti Ravi, to send the bodies of victims to Ahmedabad. [3] The charred dead bodies were handed over to him by the executive magistrate of Godhra, allegedly at the behest of his senior officers, to be transported to Ahmedabad. [4] They were transported in 5 trucks, along with a police escort, to Sola Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, reaching there at 4 A.M. on 28 February.

Patel testified to the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) that the BJP MLA's Maya Kodnani and Amit Shah visited the hospital the next morning, and the Hindu mobs gathered at the hospital "thrashed them" for the inability of the Government to protect the karsevaks. Subsequently, Kodnani and Patel were accused of being involved in the Naroda Gam and Naroda Patia massacres where 95 Muslims were murdered in a gruesome attack by Hindu mobs. [5] [6] The senior Police Officer PB Gondia, who registered First Information Reports (FIR) naming Kodnani and Patel was transferred out of his post, and the FIR mysteriously vanished. Investigating officers subsequently produced alibis for the two accused, claiming that they were at the Sola Civil Hospital at the time of the massacres. [7]

Mobile phone records placing Kodnani and Patel at the scene of the riots were buried by the police. They were brought to light by the Nanavati Commission in 2004, and later investigated by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Supreme Court of India in 2008. Kodnani and Patel ignored notices for deposition by the SIT, which declared them absconders in February 2009. They obtained an anticipatory bail from a sessions court, which was revoked by the Gujarat High Court on 27 March 2009, leading to their subsequent arrest, seven years after the carnage. Kodnani was implicated in both Naroda Patia and Naroda Gaam cases, whereas Patel was implicated in the Naroda Gaam case. [8] Patel was however in constant mobile phone contact with the Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, who was a leading participant in the Naroda Patia massacre, and Patel was kept informed of the death toll at regular intervals. [9]

Related Research Articles

Events in the year 2002 in the Republic of India.

The Best Bakery case was a legal case involving the burning down of the Best Bakery, a small outlet in the Hanuman Tekri area in Vadodara, Gujarat, India, on 1 March 2002. During the incident, a Hindutvadi mob targeted the Sheikh family who ran the bakery and had taken refuge inside, resulting in the deaths of fourteen people. This case has come to symbolize the carnage in 2002 Gujarat riots that followed the Godhra train burning. All the 21 accused were acquitted by the court due to shoddy police work and issues with evidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teesta Setalvad</span> Indian activist and journalist (born 1962)

Teesta Setalvad is an Indian civil rights activist and journalist. She is the secretary of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), an organisation formed to advocate for the victims of 2002 Gujarat riots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pravin Togadia</span>

Pravin Togadia is an Indian doctor, cancer surgeon and an advocate for Hindu nationalism, coming from the state of Gujarat. He was the former International Working President of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and a cancer surgeon by qualification. He is Current President of Antarashtriya Hindu Parishad. He had a falling out with the Sangh Parivar and is a vocal critic of Narendra Modi.

The Godhra train burning occurred on the morning of 27 February 2002, in which 59 Hindu pilgrims and karsevaks returning from Ayodhya were killed in a fire inside the Sabarmati Express train near the Godhra railway station in the Indian state of Gujarat. The cause of the fire remains disputed. The incident led to severe retribution against Muslims, during the Gujarat riots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 Gujarat riots</span> Three-day period of sectarian violence in the Indian state of Gujarat

The 2002 Gujarat riots, also known as the 2002 Gujarat violence, was a three-day period of inter-communal violence in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The burning of a train in Godhra on 27 February 2002, which caused the deaths of 58 Hindu pilgrims and karsevaks returning from Ayodhya, is cited as having instigated the violence. Following the initial riot incidents, there were further outbreaks of violence in Ahmedabad for three months; statewide, there were further outbreaks of violence against the minority Muslim population of Gujarat for the next year.

<i>Jai Shri Ram</i> Phrase meaning "Hail Lord Rama", often chanted in Hinduism

Jai Shri Ram is an expression in Indic languages, translating as "Glory to Lord Rama" or "Victory to Lord Rama". The proclamation has been used by Hindus as an informal greeting, as a symbol of adhering to Hindu faith, or for projection of varied faith-centered emotions.

Haren Pandya was the Home Minister of Gujarat in India. He was allegedly murdered in 2003 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, when he was sitting in his car, after a morning walk in the Law Garden area in Ahmedabad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babu Bajrangi</span> Bajrang Dal leader convicted for massacre of Muslims during the 2002 Gujarat riots

Babubhai Patel, known by his alias Babu Bajrangi, is a leader of the Gujarat-wing of the Bajrang Dal, a Hindu right wing organization in India. He was a central figure during the 2002 Gujarat violence. He was sentenced to life term imprisonment by a special court for his role in masterminding the Naroda Patiya massacre in which 97 Muslims were murdered including 36 women, 26 men and 35 children. The Supreme Court of India granted him bail on medical grounds in March 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ehsan Jafri</span> Indian politician

Ehsan Jafri was an Indian politician and former member of the 6th Lok Sabha for the Congress Party, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulbarg Society massacre</span> Massacre of a Muslim neighbourhood in Ahmedabad during the 2002 Gujarat Riots

The Gulbarg Society massacre took place on 28 February 2002, during the 2002 Gujarat riots, when a crowd started stone pelting the Gulbarg Society, a Muslim neighbourhood in the eastern part of Chamanpura, Ahmedabad. Most of the houses were burnt, and at least 35 victims, including a former Congress Member of Parliament, Ehsan Jafri, were burnt alive, while 31 others went missing after the incident, later presumed dead, bringing the total deaths to 69.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amit Shah</span> Minister of Home Affairs (India)

Amit Anil Chandra Shah is an Indian politician currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs since 2019 and the first Minister of Co-operation of India since 2021. He served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from 2014 to 2020. He has also served as chairman of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) since 2014. He was elected to the lower house of Parliament, Lok Sabha, in the 2019 Indian general elections from Gandhinagar. Earlier, he had been elected as a member of the upper house of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, from Gujarat in 2017. Sworn in at the age of 54, he is the youngest serving full-time Home Minister. He is the chief strategist of the BJP and a close aide to Narendra Modi.

Sanjiv Bhatt is a former Indian Police Service officer of the Gujarat-cadre. He is known for his role in filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court of India against the then Chief Minister of the Government of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, concerning Modi's alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. He claimed to have attended a meeting, during which Modi allegedly asked top police officials to let Hindus vent their anger against the Muslims. However, the Special Investigation Team appointed by the Supreme Court of India concluded that Bhatt did not attend any such meeting, and dismissed his allegations.

Maya Surendrakumar Kodnani is a former Minister of State for Women and Child Development in the Government of Gujarat. Kodnani joined the 12th legislative assembly of Gujarat after being elected to represent the constituency of Naroda as a candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naroda Patiya massacre</span> Massacre during the 2002 Gujarat riots

The Naroda Patiya massacre took place on 28 February 2002 at Naroda, in Ahmedabad, India, during the 2002 Gujarat riots. 97 Muslims were killed by a mob of approximately 5,000 people, organised by the Bajrang Dal, a wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, and allegedly supported by the Bharatiya Janata Party which was in power in the Gujarat State Government. The massacre at Naroda occurred during the bandh (strike) called by Vishwa Hindu Parishad a day after the Godhra train burning. The riot lasted over 10 hours, during which the mob looted, stabbed, sexually assaulted, gang-raped and burnt people individually and in groups. After the conflict, a curfew was imposed in the state and army troops were called in to contain further violence.

Gordhan Zadafia is an Indian politician from Gujarat, India. He was a leader in Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) for 15 years before joining Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Truth: Gujarat 2002 was an investigative report on the 2002 Gujarat riots published by India's Tehelka news magazine in its 7 November 2007 issue. The video footage was screened by the news channel Aaj Tak. The report, based on a six-month-long investigation and involving video sting operations, stated that the violence was made possible by the support of the state police and the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi for the perpetrators. The report and the reactions to it were widely covered in Indian and international media. The recordings were authenticated by India's Central Bureau of Investigation on 10 May 2009.

The Nanavati-Mehta Commission is the commission of inquiry appointed by the government of Gujarat to probe the Godhra train burning incident of 27 February 2002. Its mandate was later enlarged to include the investigation of the 2002 Gujarat riots. It was appointed on 6 March 2002, with K. G. Shah, a retired Gujarat High Court judge, as its only member. It was later re-constituted to include G. T. Nanavati, a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India, after protests from human rights organizations over Shah's closeness to then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Akshay H. Mehta, retired judge of the Gujarat High Court, replaced Shah when the latter died before the submission of the commission's interim report. Mehta was the same judge who had granted bail to Babu Bajrangi, the main accused of the Naroda Patiya massacre.

Rahul Sharma is an ex Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Gujarat cadre turned practicing lawyer with Gujarat High Court. He was inducted into the service in 1992. He played a crucial role in policing operations during the 2002 Gujarat riots. He was seconded to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2004, and served there for the next three years. Later, he served as the DIG at Rajkot, Gujarat until seeking voluntary retirement from active service in 2015.

Gujarat: The Making of a Tragedy is a book about the 2002 Gujarat riots edited by Siddharth Varadarajan.

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-05-08. Retrieved 2019-09-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ↑ Bunsha 2005, p. 118.
  3. ↑ Mitta 2014, p. 135.
  4. ↑ Mitta 2014, p. 122-124.
  5. ↑ Umat, Ajay (1 Jul 2012). "Why isn't this man an accused in Naroda Paitya?". Times of India. Archived from the original on 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2014-08-11.
  6. ↑ Bunsha 2005, p. 174.
  7. ↑ Bunsha 2005, p. 56.
  8. ↑ Mitta 2014, p. 88-89.
  9. ↑ Khetan, Ashish (3 Nov 2007). "Ahmedabad: Carnage Capital". Tehelka.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-21.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.