Ahmedabad:
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Supreme court to probe the Gujarat riots cases has submitted its final report in connection with the complaint filed against Chief Minister Narendra Modi by Zakia Jafri, the wife of slain Congress MP Ehsaan Jafri.
The report, submitted in a sealed cover to a magistrate's court, has found no "prosecutable evidence" against Mr Modi and 60 others, according to sources. The SIT has also stated in the report, sources say, that no substantial evidence has been found to back suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt's claims that the Chief Minister had ordered rioters to be given a free hand.
The Supreme Court had last year refused to take a position on the merits of the case and had, instead, directed the SIT to submit a final report to a trial court that it said should study the evidence and charges against Mr Modi. The Supreme Court's order was immediately hailed by the Chief Minister as also the BJP, calling it a vindication of sorts. Mr Modi, in fact, had tweeted "God is Great" soon after the order.
Zakia Jafri, whose husband and former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was set on fire during the riots, has accused the Chief Minister of ensuring assistance was not provided to those being attacked.
Last year, amicus curiae Raju Ramchandran had, in the Supreme Court, submitted his report stating that the Chief Minister could be prosecuted as per law.
Sources have told NDTV, that the SIT has, in the latest report, not considered Mr Ramchandran's views asking for further probe into Mr Bhatt's claim against Mr Modi.
The SIT, the sources said, writes in the report that Mr Bhatt's driver Tarachand Yadav was the only person who had given a statement backing his claim. However, given Mr Yadav's track record - he was suspended in the past for forgery - his claims could not be relied upon.
The SIT, set up in 2009, was directed to look into Mr Modi's role after Zakia Jafri accused the him and other senior politicians and bureaucrats of deliberately preventing assistance to those being attacked. It submitted its report to the Supreme Court in May 2010.
The Magistrate's court will now have to hand over copies of the final report to the petitioner, Zakiya Jafri before it issues any order on the report.