Gujarat riots: Government issues notice to top cop

GANDHINAGAR - Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rahul Sharma was Saturday issued a show cause notice by the Gujarat government seeking an explanation why departmental action should not be taken against him for misconduct.

The charges against him related to the making of a CD containing telephone call data of officials, politicians and rioters during the 2002 communal violence in the state.

The records of calls between key police officers, bureaucrats and political leaders, including ministers and the chief minister, subsequently found their way to various probe agencies including the Special Investigation Team set up at the behest of the Supreme Court to probe cases related to riots.

After details of the SIT report were leaked to media, the state government Saturday issued show cause notice to Sharma, who is now a deputy inspector general-rank official based in Rajkot.

The notice has been issued through the state police chief seeking an explanation as to why action should not be taken against him for not depositing the CD carrying the call records with the criminal investigation department. He has been asked to give his explanation within a fortnight.

He was posted as the district superintendent of police of Bhavnagar when the communal riots broke out. He was later transferred.

He was later told to assist the crime branch in probing the riot cases. As part of this exercise, he is reported to have collected call data from cellular phone operators related to the period from Feb 27-March 4, 2002 during which the riots took place.