Gujarat rebuked over riot inaction

58 people died after the train at Godhra was set ablaze

By Jyotsna Singh BBC correspondent in Delhi

India's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has raised serious questions about the role of the government in the western state of Gujarat in controlling a recent outbreak of violence which had claimed nearly 700 lives.

The NHCR says the government failed to curb the violence

A report released by the NHRC on Monday calls for an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into some of the worst rioting incidents in the state.

This includes the incident in Godhra in which 58 people were killed when a train carrying a group of Hindu activists was set ablaze on 27 February.

The incident sparked off the worst rioting between Hindus and Muslims in the country in nearly a decade.

Damning report

The strongly-worded report comes ahead of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's expected visit to Gujarat later this week.

Narendra Modi dismisses the accusations

The report is based on the NHRC's own findings as well on the state government's own report submitted last week, and its contents are likely to put more pressure on the state's right-wing chief minister Narendra Modi.

Mr Modi has been under attack by the opposition as well as welfare groups working in the area for failing to prevent the spread of violence in the state.

Mr Modi has refuted these charges saying he did his best to bring the situation under control.

The Commission says it is "constrained to observe that a serious failure of intelligence and action by the state government marked the events leading to the Godhra tragedy and the subsequent death and destruction that occurred".

Investigation demands

The Commission has asked the government to "rebut the charges or be held accountable".

It has also taken note of the discrimination in compensation announced by the state government which it says provoked national as well as international criticism.

The report expresses deep dissatisfaction at the way investigations into Godhra as well as some cases of rioting are proceeding.

It calls for a CBI investigation into some critical cases which include the Godhra incident as well as some of the worst cases of rioting in predominantly Muslim localities including the Chamanpura (Gulbarga Society) incident.

The report emphasises on the need to speed up the judicial process by setting up special courts and fixing up a time frame to punish the guilty.

It is extremely critical of the failure of the police in performing their duties, in view of the media reports as well as its own assessments based on complaints made to its team that visited Gujarat.

The report says that "action should be taken to identify and proceed against those who failed to act appropriately to control the violence in its incipient stages or to prevent its escalation thereafter".

In the wake of complaints of police inaction, the NHRC strongly recommends to reform police to "insulate the forces from extraneous influences".

This is one of the rare instances when the NHRC, which is often accused of lacking teeth, has made such strong observations in its report.