New Delhi:
The Supreme Court has ruled that what Narendra Modi said about the Gujarat riots of 2002 to a Special Investigation Team cannot be revealed to anyone except the trial court hearing the case.
Modi was interrogated for eight hours in March by the Special Investigating Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court to look into the Ehsan Jafri case.
Ehsan, a former Congress MP, was burnt alive in the communal riots at Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad in February 2002.
His wife, Zakia, went to the Supreme Court in 2006, alleging that Modi, along with 62 bureaucrats, police officers and senior ministers, conspired to ensure that those being targeted in the riots did not receive any assistance.
The SC has allowed the SIT to probe former Gujarat Home Minister Gordhan Zadafia and two former police officers in connection with the petition of Zakia Jaffrey, the wife of the Ehasan Jaffrey, Congress MP who was brutally murdered along with 39 others in the Gulbarga society.
The SIT is headed by former CBI Director RK Raghavan.
Nearly 70 people died in Gulbarg Society, which was one of the worst-affected areas during the Gujarat riots. In the minutes before he was set on fire, Jaffri was on the phone, allegedly trying to convince senior bureaucrats and policemen to send help.
Zakia has alleged: ''Narendra Modi had issued instructions to the police and security establishments to remain inactive and allow a free run to rioters. That's why the police didn't act.''