Appointment of Antani as New Home Secretary:Modi cocking a snook at the present brouhaha over the sidelined cops

At present there is a noisy and overexcited critical response and display of interest and trail of publicity over the sidelined post Godhra cops. So much so that even national mainstream papers are taken in and forget to look closely into the matters and unearth the truth and publish it rather than being carried away by sops dished out to them. The government of Nrendra Modi in Gujarat has promoted MD Manoj Antani as Home Secretary. He was the DSP of Bharuch in 2002. Showing open contempt to the civil society, Modi has dared to take them on. But his shrewd move though bewitching some for the time being has also given away the truth.

It has been mistakenly reported that Antani was a sidelined cop who did not carry out the instructions of Modi to let the Hindus wreak havoc on the Muslims in revenge for the train fire on the Sabarmati Express on February 27, 2002. The truth is far from this. He on his own opted for the central government deputation from the Gujarat lot because he feared his record was quite incriminating, to say the least.

If the police officer KK Mysorewalla’s remaik that there was order from the above not to save the Muslims from the marauding hordes made the title of a report by a Human Rights book on Gujarat 2002, the remark of Antani will one day become a much more publicized title of another book. Antani had led his police men break the doors of Muslims in Bharuch city. He took away sixteen Muslim youths and tortured them while in detention. The torture started when he ordered his men in uniform “These Muslims are filthy people, burn them to ashes!” (Yeh sab kshan Muslims hain, unko jala do aur khakh kar do!) The blood curdling beating started and continued.

The highly inhuman and criminal behavior of Antani comes in a context which is even more horrifying. In an area of Bharuch called Bahar ki Undai a blood thirsty mob was led by the Home Guards and also some police on March 19, 2002. The Home Guards opened fired on Muslims and killed some. Home Guard Bharat Sunderlal Bhatia killed Sayyid Sirajuddin Jibbo. Another Home Guard Deepak Samardas Rana killed a woman called Najma. Another Muslim who was injured in the firing was Shabbier Khan.

This crowd had come from Dandia Bazaar where Deepak Samardas Rana lived. He led the mob to Undai. He had deserted his post which was 200 meters away in another area. As he led the mob, those behind him started a hail of stones at the Muslims after he had opened fire on the Muslims.

The subsequent breaking of doors and arrest on the orders of Antani was a sequel to this. Most notable feature is that this recrudescence of pogrom happened full seventeen days after Modi’s stipulated three days sanction for anti Muslim violence.

The same white powder that burnt down to ashes Gulberg society was used in Bharuch too with the same disastrous effect. How could hundreds of packets and bottles of the powder find their way to these farfetched places? What more proof would the courts need to judge the genocidal fury unleashed on the Muslims by Modi and lieutenants, like Antani? “Burn them to ashes” (unko jala dalo aur khkh kar do!) thundered the man who is now Home Secretary to Modi.

There is a base side to human nature of some. In the present case it is, like master like servant. It is not confined by one’s being born in any particular faith. It is such a depravity that its greed makes man feel no shame, let alone any remorse. An episode that local Narmada channel had telecast live was the collector of Bharuch Anju Sharma and DSP Manoj Antani gorging on cashew nuts and almonds. These two had let the mobs of Hindus break open the shops of Muslims in Barelikho in Bharuch on February 28. The marauders passed on the booty stolen from the dry fruits shops of Muslims. They ingratiated the ‘sahebs’ for their largess in allowing them to loot and then burn. These officials of Modi administration were carrying out the instructions that Modi had given them in the late night meeting at his residence only twelve hours ago.

Question: How does one prove all these accusations?
Answer: The strike called by Vishwa Hindu Parishad on February 28 started the three days stipulated time Modi gave the mobs to take revenge upon the Muslims when his police would let them vent their anger. His satrap Viral Desai was the boss of VHP unit of Bharuch. Antani was its DSP of the town. Aju Sharma its collector. Given the kind of situation that was created there the order passed from the administration to the religious wing of the party which ruled the state. After all, the chief minister and the Prime Minister Vajpayee and his Home Minister LK Advani always felt proud to be members of Rashtra Swayamsevak Sangh. VHP and BJP are different configurations of the same.

On the same channel Desai had unsheathed his sword and gave a call for the strike while shouting in his fervor “It is official secret that the police are with us in this” (“Yeh under ki baat hai, police hamare saath hai.”) By no means was it an empty boast. The sword struck its victims while the hordes encored the slogan “Yeh under ki baat hai, police hamare saath hai.” The police and the hordes shared the open secret and so there was no need to deny it. The police and the government never bothered to issue any denial. It was a foregone conclusion.

Antani was not sidelined. A punitive action was taken against him because the High Court was hearing a case. In that case Antani had made a blunder. There was some trouble in another part of Bharuch called Haji Khana Bazaar right on March 18 when Hindus had gathered in the house of Bhupender Manilal Gandhi. It followed attack on Taiba mosque. The attackers included Desai. He was in the crowd which demanded the imam to hand Muslim youths accused of unlawful gathering, under section 144. When the magistrate Mr Trivedi came there and Muslims demanded release of the seven youths the police had caught, Desai prevailed upon the magistrate and the section was changed to 307. The youths could not be released. As if this was not enough, Antani botched up and joined the 16 youths he had forced his men to break doors and drag out and detain and put their names in the same FIR. How could the sixteen in one place Undai be shown to be in a far away Haji Khana Bazaar case?

Therefore, it would be appropriate to say that Antani was shunted to avoid the blot from becoming too prominent and when the transfer to the central government deputation came handy he was allowed to escape. And now he is reinstated with promotion in office and dignity!

How could he be described, as in the words of the national mainstream paper, ‘sticking to the rule book during the riot’? At long last his master should now heed the rule of law, the rule book ceases to matter before the rule of law.