Transfers may hit Godhra riots probe

GANDHINAGAR: The transfer of 41 senior police officers in Gujarat, purportedly to strengthen the state''s intelligence network, is expected to further delay investigations into the post-Godhra riots.
While senior government officials denied that the transfers would, in anyway, undermine the investigations, sources said there was more to the move than met the eye.
Director-general of police K Chakravarti said, "By placing Rakesh Asthana as IG (Vadodara range), the supervision of the Godhra case will get a new fillip." He countered suggestions that the transfer of Rakesh Asthana and J K Bhatt from their respective posts of CID (crime) and SP western railway would have an adverse impact on the probe.
A top bureaucrat said while 65 of the 125 accused had been caught, others were still absconding. Sources, however, said the investigations into the Godhra riots "were more-or-less complete", and the transfers could only delay justice.

Newly-promoted additional DG CID (crime) Kuldip Sharma will now be the overall in-charge of the investigations. He replaces A K Bhargav.
Sources said additional commissioners in Ahmedabad, Satish Sharma and Satish Verma, who had done a good job during the brief tenure of K P S Gill as chief minister Narendra Modi''s security advisor, were transferred under political pressure.

While Sharma is yet to be assigned a posting, Verma has been sent to Bhuj to guard the borders. The officers who have replaced them — P C Thakur and Keshav Kumar — were both known to be "accommodative", said the sources.