Justice Bedi Committee Report Made Public; Rejects ‘Pogrom’ Of Muslims Charge Against Gujarat Government Under Modi

A 229-page report submitted to the Supreme Court (SC) by former judge of the apex court, justice H S Bedi, has been made public.

The report counters the allegations that the 17 police encounters which took place in Gujarat between 2002 and 2006 under the Narendra Modi-led government constituted a ‘pogrom’ against Muslim extremists, reports The Hindu.

The report was the 11th submitted by the Bedi committee, given to the Supreme Court in February 2018; it was ordered to be disclosed to the petitioners who had moved the apex court in 2007.

The report notes that none of the 17 encounters was an instance of ‘selective elimination’ of ‘Muslim extremists’, a charge levelled by former IPS officer of Gujarat, R B Sreekumar.

“The circumstances belie the allegations as the victims belonged to several parts of India, as far afield as Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala and Maharashtra and as the names suggest, several communities as well,” the retired judge observed in the report.

Justice Bedi stated that the only common feature among those killed in the encounters was the element of criminality of a variety of degrees, and thus the points raised by Sreekumar were irrelevant.

While in most of the cases of alleged fake encounters, Justice Bedi has ordered that no further action be taken, he has sought the further prosecution of police officers involved in only three cases, also ordering compensation between Rs 10 and 14 lakh to be paid to the family members of those killed.

However, the report gives no adverse findings against either Modi or senior government and police officials from his tenure.