New Delhi [India], November 14 : Rakesh Asthana, former Special Director of the CBI, who investigated the 2002 Godhra train burning, claimed that then Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav wanted to implicate him through the Justice UC Banerjee committee, adding that a media acquaintance had warned him to be careful at the time.
Recounting the incident, Asthana said a former hostel mate of his, who was holding a senior position in the media in Delhi, had called and warned him that he could be implicated in the matter.
“At that time, I had a hostel mate. He was in a very high position in the media in Delhi. He must have had a conversation with Laluji somewhere. So he called me, and he warned me. He told me to be careful. Because there has been such a thing that in the name of this commission, they will put you in this,” Asthana said.
When asked whether he suspected any personal or political motive behind RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav’s decision to constitute the committee, Asthana declined to comment, saying, “I don’t want to comment on this. But things have happened. This presumption or conclusion can be dropped. But I will not like to comment on that.”
Speaking about the Godhra train burning incident, Asthana said the Justice Nanavati Commission examined both the Godhra incident and the subsequent riots in Gujarat. He said the commission’s report on the Godhra incident, submitted in 2008, concluded that the fire was deliberate and part of a pre-planned conspiracy.
“The commission again concluded the same thing. It is a part; it is a result of a pre-planned conspiracy. Fire has been deliberately set,” he said.
Asthana said the commission examined the forensic findings, the SIT investigation and the police investigation before reaching its conclusion. He added that around 44,000 affidavits were filed and more than 1,000 witnesses were examined during the proceedings.
Referring to the Justice UC Banerjee committee, constituted by then Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav after the change of government in 2004, Asthana said it had concluded that the fire was accidental, attributing it to a stove allegedly being carried in the coach.
"They also conducted their own investigation. They came with the report that it was an accidental fire. The car service was carrying a stove, so it caught fire," he said.
He further said a victim challenged the committee’s findings before the Gujarat High Court, which declared the committee illegal, observing that the Railway Ministry could not constitute such a committee when an inquiry commission was already examining the incident.
"A victim challenged him in 2005 or 2006 before the High Court of Gujarat. The High Court of Gujarat discouraged him and said that the committee is illegal because Railway can't make it. Already, a commission has been set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act, and the Railway Act says that if you want to investigate a railway accident, then there is a Commissioner and Railway Safety, who, independently under the Civil Aviation Ministry, see everything. The committee itself was void, illegal, and it was removed," he said.
The Commission concluded that the burning of coach S/6 was a "pre-planned act".