The two commissioners told me that they had the orders from "above" to "lay low". Although they didnot elaborate what is meant by "above" and "lay low", from the behavior of Commissioner Pandey, it isnot difficult to know what they meant. The latest reports of the meeting on February 27, 2002, at theresidence of Gujarat Chief Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, which was attended by several of his cabinet colleaguesand top police officers, including Commissioner Pandey, is a testimony to that connivance and governmentculpability. Modi had asked them to cooperate with the VHP activists during the Gujarat Bandh declared for thenext day and not stop them in their activities. In order to ensure that, two of his cabinet ministers, Bhattand Jadeja, were sitting in the police control room on February 28, 2002, overlooking and directing the mobwork.