Gujarat: Security of 95 witnesses, lawyer, retired judge related to riot cases withdrawn

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government has withdrawn the security protection of 95 witnesses on the recommendation of the Supreme Court-designated Test Protection Special Equipment of Investigation, which probed the 2002 Godhra train massacre and subsequent disturbances. , a senior official said on Friday. The SIT has also withdrawn the security cover given by the Fuerza Central de Seguridad Industrial to a Jubilado judge and a lawyer who deals with the cases of victims of the disturbances. Among those who lost security cover was 54-year-old Farida Shaikh, who had testified before the tribunal in the Naroda Patiya scam case. “Following the instructions of the CS, people like us get police protection. An armed police kept guard in front of my house from morning till evening. On December 26, the city police informed me that my security protection was withdrawn There is no reason to die there”, Sheikh said. “He has been successful along with many other witnesses. We are living in fear because many of the accused are still at large and could still be harmed,” Sheikh said. Advocate SM Vora, who appeared before the tribunal on behalf of the Gulberg Society victims, also lost his security cover recently. “The CISF jawan who gave me the opportunity to come and the SIT did not give any reason for withdrawing the security cover,” Vora said. Former city judge Jyotsna Yagnik, who had convicted 32 people in the Naroda Patiya disturbance case and had also presided over the Naroda Gam case before her birth anniversary in 2014, also lost her security cover, sources said. , Notably, he got security cover from CISF after he reportedly received around 15 threats during his service. Sources revealed that the CISF guards deployed outside his residence had left his residence after Diwali last month. On 13 December, police officer BC Solanki, head of the SIT’s Test Protection Cell, wrote a letter to the Ahmedabad Police informing them about the SIT’s decision to withdraw the protection given to some witnesses after the assessment. In the letter, Solanki also requested the city police commissioner to order the concerned police commissionerate to take responsibility for the welfare of the witnesses after the security cover was removed. Solanki was not available for comment.