We Have No Orders to Save You - Human Rights Watch

district administrations Justice Nanavati responded, “the evidence recorded so far in other districts do not show
any serious lapse on the part of police and the civil administration.” 100
The history of government-appointed commissions of inquiry in the state, and the country, also raise doubts as to
whether the commission’s recommendations will be followed. 101 The recommendations of two commissions of
inquiry established following the 1969 and 1985 riots have yet to be implemented. 102 Numerous commissions of
inquiry officially appointed to investigate communal riots in India since the partition of India and Pakistan have
indicted sangh parivar-affiliated groups for their role in violent crimes against India’s minorities yet no action has
been taken against them. 103
V. POLICE SHOOTINGS AND FALSE CHARGES AGAINST VICTIMS
In “We Have No Orders to Save You,” Human Rights Watch reported on the arbitrary detention and filing of false
charges against Muslims during and after the initial attacks. The practice remains largely unchecked in many
parts of Gujarat. R. Bibi, a Muslim woman in her sixties from Naroda Patia, described the frustration and
helplessness felt by many Muslims in the state: “When my boys go back [to Naroda Patia] the police harass them.
The police take their names down and say that you killed our people, the Hindus. So first they attack us and kill
our people and then they put cases against our children. Now where are we supposed to go?” 104 Numerous
lawyers have also described to Human Rights Watch a climate of impunity and increasing apprehension on the
part of witnesses in key cases. One lawyer monitoring cases in Ahmedabad told Human Rights Watch: “there’s a
fear within the community that they’re going to be implicated with false cases with which they have no
connection.” 105 This chapter focuses on police shootings, the manipulation of victims’ postmortem reports, and
the filing of false charges against Muslim victims of police shootings. Many victims cannot afford to pay bail, or
to secure attorneys to represent them. 106
Police Shootings
In April 2002 Human Rights Watch reported that in almost all cases documented in Ahmedabad the police led the
charge of the mobs, aiming and firing at Muslims who sought to protect their homes and their loved ones.
According to a report drafted by the Gujarat police, of the 184 people killed in police shootings, 104 were
Muslims. 107 A government official told Human Rights Watch that an overwhelming majority of the eighty
Hindus killed were Dalits. 108 Postmortems and medical certificates reportedly have also been manipulated to hide
100 “Godhra probe: No evidence of lapse against govt,” Times of India, May 19, 2003.
101 State governments in India share a common history of appointing judicial commissions of inquiry to quell public outcries
against police excesses during large-scale communal and caste clashes. Although these commissions do serve a political
function, their findings, if and when released to the public, are frequently in favor of the state. Those that criticize the state
are rarely implemented. The report of the commission singled out various state officials for their role in inciting violence
against Muslims. See also the history of Tamil Nadu government-appointed commissions of inquiry into attacks against
Dalits in Human Rights Watch, Broken People: Caste Violence Against India’s “Untouchables,” Chapter V.
102 Anil Pathak, “Traditional hot-beds of strife remain relatively quiet,” Times of India, March 5, 2002.
103 Concerned Citizens Tribunal, Crime Against Humanity, vol. II, p. 73.
104 Human Rights Watch interview with R. Bibi, Ahmedabad, January 2, 2003.
105 Human Rights Watch interview with attorney monitoring Ahmedabad cases (name withheld), Ahmedabad, January 2,
2003.
106 In stark contrast, many sangh parivar members accused of attacks against Muslims have been assured of VHP-financed
legal representation. On March 9, 2002, the Indian Express, an English daily, reported that even before chargesheets were
filed, the VHP mobilized a team of fifty lawyers ready to defend accused VHP and Bajrang Dal members in court. The
VHP’s Gujarat state general secretary, Jaideep Patel, himself accused of leading the Naroda Patia massacre stated that the
Godhra victims, and those accused of post-Godhra crimes had “fought a religious battle. They also fought to protect Hindu
lives under attack. Not only the VHP and Bajrang Dal, the whole community should come forward to help them.” Joydeep
Ray, “Riots: Parivar picks team for legal battle,” Indian Express, March 9, 2002.
107 Concerned Citizens Tribunal, Crime Against Humanity, vol. I, p. 194.
108 Human Rights Watch interview with Gujarat government official (name withheld), Ahmedabad, January 5, 2003.
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 27 JULY 2003, Vol. 15, No. 3 (C)