Gulberg massacre: Jafris call details unavailable,says SIT

In a significant development in the 2002 Gulberg Society massacre case,the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team...

In a significant development in the 2002 Gulberg Society massacre case,the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT)on Wednesday told the designated fast-track court that the phone call details of Ehsan Jafri are unavailable since telephone companies did not maintain call records beyond a year.

Jafris family members have stated that he made frantic calls to many police officers and politicians to get security cover against the violent mob which had gathered around the Gulberg Society on February 28,2002. Jafri was burnt alive along with many others in the riots following the Godhra train carnage.

Following an application by a lawyer who is appearing for the prosecution in the case,designated Judge B U Joshi had recently asked the SIT to submit certain evidence before the court.

On Wednesday,the SIT submitted evidence like mobile phone records of all the police officers above the rank of Inspector who were posted in Ahmedabad during the 2002 riots,a CD of a sting operation covered by a news television and logbooks of wireless messages recorded by the Ahmedabad police during the riots.

With regard to Jafris call details,SIT officials submitted replies they had received from various telecom companies saying the records are unavailable now,as the companies maintain data only up to six months to one year. Similarly,the SIT also stated that the call details of some of the accused in the case are missing.

The SIT has sought time from the court to submit other documentary evidence since they are yet to collect the same. The next hearing has been scheduled for October 27.