A Special Investigating Team appointed by the Supreme Court of India concluded that he was killed after he fired at an agitated Hindu mob outside his house. His widow Zakia Jafri has subsequently alleged that the state of Gujarat and its then-chief minister, now the current prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, was partly responsible for the violence and lack of police intervention in favor of the victims at Gulbarg Society. The argument was rejected by a Special Investigation Committee appointed by the Supreme Court in 2008.[1][2][3] A review petition was filed by her which gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi a clean chit.[4] A three judge bench of The Supreme Court rejected her review petition, giving the reason that "the petition is devoid of any merit".[1]
Ehsan Jafri was born in Burhanpur, present day Madhya Pradesh in 1929, and his father was Dr. Allahbaksh Jafri. In 1935, Ehsan moved to Ahmedabad, studying at the R.C. High School.[5]
Subsequently, he was elected General Secretary of the Progressive Editor's Union. Around this time, he also completed his law degree and started practising as an attorney in Ahmedabad.[citation needed] His family had to suffer during 1969 Gujarat riots too.[6]
In the 1960s, he had joined the Congress Party of Indira Gandhi, and was heading the city unit by 1972. In 1977, after the emergency when the party was routed in most Indian states, Ehsan managed to win the Ahmedabad seat and became a parliamentarian in the 6th Lok Sabha. Thereafter, he remained active in the party and held several key organizational posts in the Congress Party Administration in Gujarat.
On 28 February 2002, when riots broke out in Gujarat, he was killed by a rampaging mob. By early morning, a large mob gathered at the Gulberg Society in the Chamanpura suburb of Ahmedabad. This was an almost entirely Muslim housing society where the septuagenarian Ehsan Jafri lived. According to First Information Report of the incident filed by police inspector K.G. Erda,[7] the violent mob started attacking Muslim owned establishments in the morning and were dispersed by the police. However, they reassembled around 1 PM armed with swords, sticks, pipe and kerosene.[8] The mob had blown up gas cylinders to blast through walls in the Gulbarg Society. The report also mentions that the rioters were guided by voter lists and computer printouts with the addresses of Muslim-owned properties, information obtained from the local municipal administration.[9][unreliable source?][10] This claim was repeated by at least five Muslim witnesses presented before the Nanavati-Mehta Commission[citation needed].
Gory details of how former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was hacked limb by limb at Gulbarg Society, then burnt, have been reported in Indian media exposés, in the words of those who did it.[11]
Chamanpura is in central Ahmedabad and barely a kilometre from the police station, and less than 2 km from the Police Commissioner's office.[12] Believing the area to be safe given Jafri's presence, many Muslims in the area had gathered in his compound. Around 10:30 in the morning, the Ahmedabad Commissioner of Police, P.C. Pandey, personally visited Jafri and apparently assured him that police reinforcement would be coming. In the next five hours, Jafri and top Congress officials of the state repeatedly kept calling the police and other government officials requesting safe transport for the residents, but no help arrived.[12] The FIR by Erda[7] further stated that the police station had 130 policemen on duty that day, and were well armed with teargas shells. However, no one was deployed to disperse the crowd, despite Ehsan Jafri and top Congress politicians repeatedly contacting the Director General of Police, Police Commissioner, the Mayor, Leader of Opposition in the State and the Parliament, and other top government officials.[13]
Investigation of death
The Tehelka report elicited no response from the Gujarat police, and four months later, the Supreme Court appointed a high level investigative team, including the ex-chief of the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate eleven major unresolved cases arising from the riots, including this murder.[14]Gulbarg Society massacre trial restarted at a special court with Supreme Court monitored Special Investigation Team acting as prosecution. On 18 June 2016, Court convicted 24 persons: 11 for life, one for 10 years and the remaining 12 given seven years of rigorous imprisonment.[15] The judgment termed the killings "unfortunate" and the "darkest day in the civil society of Gujarat", but reiterated that "it was the private firing by Ehsan Jafri that acted as a catalyst and which infuriated the mob to such an extent that the mob went out of control…".[15] Though the survivors of the Gulbarg massacre say that Jafri fired his gun only in self-defense after the violent mob started attacking the complex.[16] In April 2012, a Special Investigation Team absolved the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi from killing of Ehsan Jafri[17] Later a protest petition was filed by his wife Zakia Jafri seeking rejection of the said SIT report to local Metropolitan Magistrate B J Ganatra.[18][19][20] SIT has strongly opposed this petition[21] and said that "Modi has never said that go and kill people".[22] Later the Supreme Court, through the Gujarat High Court, stayed the routine transfer of the metropolitan magistrate who was hearing the petition on the information of the amicus curiaeHarish Salve that the routine transfer due to the end of his term may delay the case.[19][20] However, in December 2013, metropolitan court rejected the petition.[23] Zakia subsequently filed an appeal against it in the higher court.[23] A three judge bench of The Supreme Court rejected her review petition, on 24th June 2022, giving the reason that "the petition is devoid of any merit".[24]
Personal life
Jafri's wife, Zakia Jafri, survived the carnage. His daughter, Nishrin Hussain, lives in Delaware.[25]
Ehsan Jafri had a lifelong interest in literature. While at school, he had brought out an Urdu magazine. He kept writing even during his years of Labour union struggle. In 1996, he published his volume of poetry titled Qandeel ("Lantern") in Urdu.[25]
References
^"SIT says Ehsan Jafri 'provoked' murderous mob". BBC News. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
^Subrahmaniam, Vidya (11 May 2012). "SIT says Ehsan Jafri 'provoked' murderous mob". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
^. The Times of India. 12 May 2012. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
^"SC adjourns for July Zakia Jafri's plea challenging SIT's clean chit to Modi, others in 2002 Godhra riots". The Indian Express. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
^. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
^Shah, Rajiv (5 March 2002). "'He made 200 phone calls for help' | India News". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
^ abFIR no. 4/5.200, filed at Meghani Nagar police station, quoted in book by Varadarajan, p. 140-141
^ Gujarat: the making of a tragedy (2002). Siddharth Varadarajan. Penguin Books India.p.140-144
^. Dawn. 30 April 2002. Archived from the original on 28 April 2012.
^. Hindustan Times. 24 April 2013. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
^ ab"SC steps in, HC revokes transfer of magistrate hearing Zakia plea". The Indian Express. 12 May 2013.
^ ab"Hearing on Zakia Jafri's plea to resume". Zee News. 15 May 2013.
^. Hindustan Times. 24 April 2013. Archived from the original on 25 April 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
^. Hindustan Times. 25 April 2013. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
^ ab"Zakia's plea against clean chit to Modi rejected". The Hindu. 26 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
^"'No larger conspiracy behind Gujarat riots': SC rejects Zakia Jafri plea against clean chit to Modi". The Indian Express. 25 June 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
^ ab. The Times of India. 9 September 2002. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
External links
The Gulbarg Society massacre: What happened at NDTV
January 20, 2023
ehsan, jafri, 1929, february, 2002, indian, politician, former, member, sabha, congress, party, killed, gulbarg, society, massacre, personal, detailsborn1929burhanpur, madhya, pradesh, british, indiadied28, february, 2002, 2002, aged, ahmedabad, gujarat, india. Ehsan Jafri 1929 28 February 2002 was an Indian politician and former member of the 6th Lok Sabha for the Congress Party who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre Ehsan JafriEhsan JafriPersonal detailsBorn1929Burhanpur Madhya Pradesh British IndiaDied28 February 2002 2002 02 28 aged 72 73 Ahmedabad Gujarat IndiaSpouseZakia JafriChildren1 daughterA Special Investigating Team appointed by the Supreme Court of India concluded that he was killed after he fired at an agitated Hindu mob outside his house His widow Zakia Jafri has subsequently alleged that the state of Gujarat and its then chief minister now the current prime minister of India Narendra Modi was partly responsible for the violence and lack of police intervention in favor of the victims at Gulbarg Society The argument was rejected by a Special Investigation Committee appointed by the Supreme Court in 2008 1 2 3 A review petition was filed by her which gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi a clean chit 4 A three judge bench of The Supreme Court rejected her review petition giving the reason that the petition is devoid of any merit 1 Contents 1 Life 2 Death 3 Investigation of death 4 Personal life 5 References 6 External linksLife EditEhsan Jafri was born in Burhanpur present day Madhya Pradesh in 1929 and his father was Dr Allahbaksh Jafri In 1935 Ehsan moved to Ahmedabad studying at the R C High School 5 Subsequently he was elected General Secretary of the Progressive Editor s Union Around this time he also completed his law degree and started practising as an attorney in Ahmedabad citation needed His family had to suffer during 1969 Gujarat riots too 6 In the 1960s he had joined the Congress Party of Indira Gandhi and was heading the city unit by 1972 In 1977 after the emergency when the party was routed in most Indian states Ehsan managed to win the Ahmedabad seat and became a parliamentarian in the 6th Lok Sabha Thereafter he remained active in the party and held several key organizational posts in the Congress Party Administration in Gujarat Death EditFurther information Gulbarg Society massacre On 28 February 2002 when riots broke out in Gujarat he was killed by a rampaging mob By early morning a large mob gathered at the Gulberg Society in the Chamanpura suburb of Ahmedabad This was an almost entirely Muslim housing society where the septuagenarian Ehsan Jafri lived According to First Information Report of the incident filed by police inspector K G Erda 7 the violent mob started attacking Muslim owned establishments in the morning and were dispersed by the police However they reassembled around 1 PM armed with swords sticks pipe and kerosene 8 The mob had blown up gas cylinders to blast through walls in the Gulbarg Society The report also mentions that the rioters were guided by voter lists and computer printouts with the addresses of Muslim owned properties information obtained from the local municipal administration 9 unreliable source 10 This claim was repeated by at least five Muslim witnesses presented before the Nanavati Mehta Commission citation needed Gory details of how former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was hacked limb by limb at Gulbarg Society then burnt have been reported in Indian media exposes in the words of those who did it 11 Chamanpura is in central Ahmedabad and barely a kilometre from the police station and less than 2 km from the Police Commissioner s office 12 Believing the area to be safe given Jafri s presence many Muslims in the area had gathered in his compound Around 10 30 in the morning the Ahmedabad Commissioner of Police P C Pandey personally visited Jafri and apparently assured him that police reinforcement would be coming In the next five hours Jafri and top Congress officials of the state repeatedly kept calling the police and other government officials requesting safe transport for the residents but no help arrived 12 The FIR by Erda 7 further stated that the police station had 130 policemen on duty that day and were well armed with teargas shells However no one was deployed to disperse the crowd despite Ehsan Jafri and top Congress politicians repeatedly contacting the Director General of Police Police Commissioner the Mayor Leader of Opposition in the State and the Parliament and other top government officials 13 Investigation of death EditThe Tehelka report elicited no response from the Gujarat police and four months later the Supreme Court appointed a high level investigative team including the ex chief of the Central Bureau of Investigation to investigate eleven major unresolved cases arising from the riots including this murder 14 Gulbarg Society massacre trial restarted at a special court with Supreme Court monitored Special Investigation Team acting as prosecution On 18 June 2016 Court convicted 24 persons 11 for life one for 10 years and the remaining 12 given seven years of rigorous imprisonment 15 The judgment termed the killings unfortunate and the darkest day in the civil society of Gujarat but reiterated that it was the private firing by Ehsan Jafri that acted as a catalyst and which infuriated the mob to such an extent that the mob went out of control 15 Though the survivors of the Gulbarg massacre say that Jafri fired his gun only in self defense after the violent mob started attacking the complex 16 In April 2012 a Special Investigation Team absolved the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi from killing of Ehsan Jafri 17 Later a protest petition was filed by his wife Zakia Jafri seeking rejection of the said SIT report to local Metropolitan Magistrate B J Ganatra 18 19 20 SIT has strongly opposed this petition 21 and said that Modi has never said that go and kill people 22 Later the Supreme Court through the Gujarat High Court stayed the routine transfer of the metropolitan magistrate who was hearing the petition on the information of the amicus curiae Harish Salve that the routine transfer due to the end of his term may delay the case 19 20 However in December 2013 metropolitan court rejected the petition 23 Zakia subsequently filed an appeal against it in the higher court 23 A three judge bench of The Supreme Court rejected her review petition on 24th June 2022 giving the reason that the petition is devoid of any merit 24 Personal life EditJafri s wife Zakia Jafri survived the carnage His daughter Nishrin Hussain lives in Delaware 25 Ehsan Jafri had a lifelong interest in literature While at school he had brought out an Urdu magazine He kept writing even during his years of Labour union struggle In 1996 he published his volume of poetry titled Qandeel Lantern in Urdu 25 References Edit SIT says Ehsan Jafri provoked murderous mob BBC News 11 May 2012 Retrieved 15 May 2013 Subrahmaniam Vidya 11 May 2012 SIT says Ehsan Jafri provoked murderous mob The Hindu Chennai India Retrieved 15 May 2013 Jafri provoked Gulbarg mob SIT report The Times of India 12 May 2012 Archived from the original on 4 November 2013 Retrieved 15 May 2013 SC adjourns for July Zakia Jafri s plea challenging SIT s clean chit to Modi others in 2002 Godhra riots The Indian Express 11 February 2019 Retrieved 11 November 2019 Ahsan Jafri Biography Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 Retrieved 26 March 2008 Shah Rajiv 5 March 2002 He made 200 phone calls for help India News The Times of India Retrieved 11 November 2019 a b FIR no 4 5 200 filed at Meghani Nagar police station quoted in book by Varadarajan p 140 141 Gujarat the making of a tragedy 2002 Siddharth Varadarajan Penguin Books India p 140 144 Police officials led attackers HRW report on Muslims massacre in Gujarat Dawn 30 April 2002 Archived from the original on 28 April 2012 Human Rights Watch Report Gujarat 2002 The Truth In the Words of the Men Who Did It Tehelka 7 November 2007 Archived from the original on 11 May 2013 Retrieved 30 May 2013 a b Scarred Gulbarg families wait on for justice The Indian Express 4 March 2007 Stavan Desai 28 November 2004 Express Investigation Top cops knew ex Cong MP Ehsan Jafri was burning his friend had sent out SOS The Indian Express Archived from the original on 1 November 2007 Retrieved 26 March 2008 Top guns given go ahead to reinvestigate Guj riots CNN IBN 26 March 2008 Retrieved 26 March 2008 a b Court says of Gulberg massacre victim Jafri His firing angered mob made them kill IndianExpress newspaper 16 June 2016 Gujarat report says MP Ehsan Jafri provoked murderers BBC News 11 May 2012 Retrieved 24 August 2017 Narendra Modi had no hand in Jafri killing says SIT Hindustan Times 10 April 2012 Zakia Jafri s plea against Modi to be heard Hindustan Times 24 April 2013 Archived from the original on 24 April 2013 Retrieved 16 May 2013 a b SC steps in HC revokes transfer of magistrate hearing Zakia plea The Indian Express 12 May 2013 a b Hearing on Zakia Jafri s plea to resume Zee News 15 May 2013 SIT opposes Zakia s plea on Modi clean chit Hindustan Times 24 April 2013 Archived from the original on 25 April 2013 Retrieved 16 May 2013 Modi did not incite riots SIT Hindustan Times 25 April 2013 Archived from the original on 26 April 2013 Retrieved 16 May 2013 a b Zakia s plea against clean chit to Modi rejected The Hindu 26 December 2013 Retrieved 26 December 2013 No larger conspiracy behind Gujarat riots SC rejects Zakia Jafri plea against clean chit to Modi The Indian Express 25 June 2022 Retrieved 19 January 2023 a b Jafri s NRI daughter pays tearful visit to Gulbarg Society The Times of India 9 September 2002 Archived from the original on 11 August 2011 Retrieved 14 May 2010 External links EditThe Gulbarg Society massacre What happened at NDTV Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ehsan Jafri amp oldid 1134531890, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
